Medieval Church Services Honored A Donkey

During the Middle Ages, Christians held a bizarre festival that featured a real donkey inside the church. Attendees would bray and chant to honor the animal that carried the Holy Family to safety in Egypt.

This celebration grew out of the Feast of Fools and served as a lighthearted tribute to the donkey in biblical stories. During the service, the animal was led to the altar while the congregation mimicked its braying instead of singing traditional hymns. It highlights a surprisingly playful side of medieval religious life that often gets overlooked today. Eventually, church authorities moved to ban these rowdy displays as they grew too chaotic.