Traditionally, clogs in Europe were made out of the willow
and were popular in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden. Having said
that, they have different cultural significances for different countries.
Swedish clogs share no resemblance with Dutch clogs except that both of them
exude the heritage of their respective countries to the tourists. In Holland,
for instance, clogs comprise the national dress. This is the reason why the
Dutch are also known as cloggies, meaning the clog wearer. Because of this, Dutch people are sometimes
called cloggies, that is, clog-wearers.
Today, Dutch clogs are available in many tourist shops.
Wearing clogs is considered to be healthy for the feet. Despite that fact, the
Dutch don't use them anymore for everyday use, but clogs are still used by
people working in their gardens, and by farmers.
In England, Pattens became popular in early 20th
century which had a large chunk of wood placed beneath a leather shoe. They
were worn to raise the feet level to protect them from a muddy terrain. People
who couldn’t afford Pattens, started wearing shoes that were completely carved
out of wood, and hence the traditional clogs were invented.
The English made a good use of welsh and welsh country
alder, Scottish birch, and Lincolnshire willow to fabricate clog sandals foe
women. The craze for wearing clogs really ascended with the advent of Industrial
Revolution, as the daily toilers in the mills, mines, iron, steel, chemical
works, and factories were gunning for a durable, and affordable footwear.
There are historical evidences suggesting that clog dancing
was actually started as a past time in these mills with workers matching their
foot taps with the rhythmic sounds made by the loom shuttles. During the
nineteenth century, competitions were held and there were professional clog
dancers who performed in the music halls.
The tradition of clog dancing still continues in Wales. The
Welsh clogging differs from other clogging forms as apart from complex moves,
it involves few tricks too. For example, putting off the candle flame with dancer’s
feet, or high leaps into the air. Lancashire became famous for the practice of
clog fighting, also known as 'purring', which was a potent instrument for
settling disputes.
In France, the wooden shoe or clog was known as sabot. In
the 18th and 19th century clogs became associated with the lower classes. During
this period the word sabotage which was derived from sabot signified the act of
aggrieved workers damaging the machines by throwing their clogs on to them.
