Originally the Kiirmes (a contraction of Kirchmesse = church mass) was the mass of the consecration of the church, the celebration of which took place on the Sunday following feast day of the patron saint. Apart from this religious connotation, Kiirmes was become a more wordly affair and the word is used to designate the celebration that takes place in the parish on this occasion. Usually Kiirmeses are celebrated from April to November, most of them in late fall. At the Kiirmes celebrations all the relatives from near and far would get together at the ancestral home. It was also the occasion for preparing a very large and copious meals, in such manners that Kiirmes celebrations used to last a few days.

American Kiirmes

The newspaper "Luxemburger Gazette" from Dubuque (1872-1918) often reported in it's column when Luxembourgers came together to celebrate the Kiirmes. But the celebration was not on the patron saint's day of their American parish. They did celebrate the Kiirmes of their home village, an occasion for them to meet with relatives and fellow country-men, who came together from the surrounding countryside and also an occasion to conjure their homesickness and reminisce the days and traditions in the old country.

Here is the list of Luxembourg Kiirmes celebrations as taken from the Luxemburger Gazette (LG):

Such Kiirmes celebrations did not last too long however. It presupposed the presence of a larger number of Luxembourgers from the same Luxembourg village/parish in one Luxembourg settlement in America, a number which diminished when settlers from the first and even more second moved away. Moreover was the Kiirmes celebrated by Luxembourgers who were still born in the old country and were familiar with the old way celebrations, the generation born in the States had no longer the same relationship to the ancestral village and parish.