We are entering 2022 and want to wish everyone the best of luck in this new year. The first day of the year had already been scheduled, and photographs were ready to shoot.
The first thing I did was drive to Scherpenheuvel’s center with my beautiful wife. Scherpenheuvel (English: “sharp Hill”), Belgium’s most prominent pilgrimage (Roman Catholic) site, is located about 50 kilometers east of Brussels. Its origins can be traced back to the pagan rituals that persisted on this hilltop during the Middle Ages, centered on a holy oak. The cross-shaped tree was therefore “Christianized” by the addition of a statue of the Virgin Mary.
According to legend, in AD 1500, the Virgin Mary performed a miracle here, freezing in place a shepherd boy who attempted to steal the modest statue, therefore foiling the robbery. By the 1550s, a torrent of devout pilgrims had arrived from neighboring areas to pray for the health and recovery of their sick loved ones. As Dutch-Protestant iconoclasts pillaged the region in 1580, the monument vanished. It was replaced seven years later by a new one, which still sits on the altar of the pilgrimage church today. The oak tree was cut by order of the Bishop of Antwerp, despite the fact that it was nearly dead and still generating fetishist worship alongside Roman Catholic devotion to Mary.
It is a spot I visit frequently throughout the year, usually once a month. I go there for a cup of coffee and to appreciate the atmosphere.
I enjoy doing some street photography, and this was no exception on January 1st!
An oak stands in the middle of the grass near the chapel of Scherpenheuvel. I’ve photographed the tree at various times of the year. For me, it is a magical spot.
As we were finishing our tour in Scherpenheuvel, I decided to pay a visit to Postel on January 1st. It is an abbey where my grandfather lived, and it is surrounded by a magnificent nature park.
Postel manufactures a variety of goods. Postel monastery has always produced Postel, the abbey beer. This beer is no longer brewed on the abbey grounds, but rather in a commercial brewery in Opwijk. The abbey also manufactures cheese. Since 1994, the monks have also used a medicinal plant botanical garden to raise ginseng.
The weather was beautiful for the time of year, and 14 degrees on January 1st is more magic than reality. We entered the naturepark, and the sun transformed it into a paradise. I knew I had to capture this moment.
I hope you all had a wonderful first day of the year. Feeling this energy is amazing to begin with, and it makes me feel blessed!
Enjoy looking outside and discovering the beauty that surrounds you because life is amazing!
Thank you
