Swapping of the handkerchief
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The swapping of the handkerchief is a Roman Catholic Marian devotion unique for the shrine of Our Lady the Garden Enclosed which belongs to the hermitage of the same name in Warfhuizen, a small village in the province of Groningen in The Netherlands. According to Spanish tradition the statue of the crying Virgin usually holds a white handkerchief. The faithful bring a new white handkerchief and give it to the hermit to swap it with the one the Virgin has been holding which, in turn, is then given to someone sick or lonely. Students take it to their exams to calm their nerves.
The origins of this particular custom are unknown, although a widespread rumor tells that it started with catholic pilgrims from the south of India and Sri Lanka. The current residing hermit, however, stated in an interview on Dutch television (KRO) that he had 'no idea' how it started. According to the same interview the amount of handkerchiefs swapped was 'a few hundred every year.'
Warfhuizen is especially popular with troubled parents and the physically impaired, the latter because of the proximity of special needs accommodation in Wehe den Hoorn, which lies 2 km. to the North.
