Brecht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The family of 10 Van Riel Brothers and Sisters from Brecht commemorated a memorable birthday occasion. The youngest sibling celebrated their 75th birthday yesterday, marking all of them reaching 800 years of life.
Ten siblings named Van Riel from Brecht joined together in celebrating their cumulative 800-year birthday. The youngest sibling reached age 75 as she marked her birthday, while her siblings ranged from 75 to 85 years old. Born between 1938 and 1952, the family expressed their joy at reaching this unique milestone, stating, “Very happy that we got there!” The siblings celebrate their exceptional accomplishments with excellent health outcomes, which makes their gathering even more joyful.
“Growing up in a family with 10 children was very pleasant. We were very supportive of each other,”
Says Angela Van Riel.
“The oldest children also helped raise the youngest, because our parents had a farm. So they were often in the fields. So the oldest children had to help the youngest.”
There are 7 sisters and 3 brothers.
“My oldest sister was 14 when I was born. She raised me from a young age,”
says the youngest of the family, Marcel.
“I can still see myself as a little rascal walking hand in hand with my big sister. That was really cool. My brothers had to work more in the fields, but we had a wonderfully warm nest.”
With so many sisters and brothers, you naturally have many playmates.
“We often played ‘wegkruiperke’. That’s what they used to call it,”
Marcel remembers.
“And also laying handkerchiefs in a big circle on the lawn and ‘buske stamp’.”
“But we also had a lot of friends. All the kids in the neighborhood would come together to play. We were all about the same age. That was really fun.”
Angela also has fond memories.
“I was between two brothers in terms of age, but we got along well. We went out together.”
Although things did go wrong sometimes.
“My younger brother once went out with my car. When he came back, it turned out that he had had an ‘accident’. My car was wrecked, and I had to go to work by bike again. But hey, I didn’t mind, he couldn’t help it,”
She laughs.
What makes large families like the Van Riels unique?
Large families consisting of 10 siblings have become exceptional in the modern world. Statistical data from Eurostat demonstrates that Belgian family sizes have decreased throughout the years as the 2022 female fertility rate dropped to 1.55 children below the 2.1 replacement threshold. During the middle of the 20th century, rural communities in Brecht, along with other rural locations, commonly supported large families as children provided essential help with farming activities.
During that era, the Van Riel siblings, born between 1938 and 1952, experienced a period when family structures included several children because such arrangements were typical. The total of 800 years among the family highlights their long lives, along with their unbroken family ties.
