In Northern Europe there are many feasts and celebrations, kind of like our federal holidays except more opportunities for a day off, a parade or a special kind of food. In the U.S. most federal holidays are an opportunity to buy sheets or mattresses on sale, in Belgium they eat, drink and have parades.
Since moving to Europe four and a half years ago, I have learned more about Catholic saints than I ever did in my Catholic catechism classes in the U.S.. Not that people here are particularly religious or attend church services, but saint feast days give them an opportunity to eat, drink and go to parades.
I will give you a few of my favorite feast days in November.
All Saints (Nov 1) and all Souls (Nov 2) Days were the first two holidays I encountered when I moved to Belgium. Of course I knew these holy days from my Catholic upbringing but here All Saints Day is a national holiday with all businesses closed. It is comparable to our Memorial Day without the white sales and shopping. Every grave is beautifully decorated with real flowers, as it seems that fake flowers are not socially acceptable.
My other memory of All Saints Day was when I was in Croatia about 10 years ago. We were driving down the road one night in a rural area and when we passed by a small cemetery it appeared that every grave was illuminated by red votive candles. It was a beautiful scene and a touching tribute to the family members buried there. Earlier that same day, I saw an older woman riding her bike to the cemetery and the front basket was overflowing with flowers that she would use to decorate the graves.
In Belgium, many families and church members spend the day visiting the cemeteries. I noticed that outside the cemeteries vendors even sell fresh flowers for people who could not get to the store before the holiday.
The next saint that I came across was St. Hubert, the patron saint of Belgium and hunters. His feast day is November 3 and on that particular day I was exploring Ghent and wandered into a Catholic church. I walked forward to examine the altar and I thought I saw a rack with dead pheasants. Hmmm, dead pheasants instead of votive candles? That’s a new one. I walked closer and sure enough 28 dead pheasants were tied to a rack about 6 ft high to the right of the altar. But even more impressive was the dead boar laying in front of the altar. I included the picture of the pheasants since I am sure you thought I exaggerated!
It was a Saturday and there was a man arranging various items and dead animals around the altar so I asked about the unusual decorations. Well, that night, there was a mass celebrating the feast of St. Hubert with all the local hunting clubs. He invited me to attend the mass and join them for a drink afterwards. I examined the banners located in the front of the church for the various hunting clubs and noticed that one dated back to 1725. I declined the invitation to return but I think of this feast day every November 3rd.
Traditionally, St. Hubert’s feast day is the start of stag hunting season. The other irony is that he was a wealthy nobleman who loved to hunt, got religion, stopped hunting and became a bishop. I know, I know, and he is the patron saint of hunters because....let’s just say that life here is full of contradictions.
Continuing with the theme of November saints, November 11 is the feast of St. Martin of Tours who was a Roman soldier who cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm. It turns out the beggar was Christ and the Roman soldier later converted to Christianity and became a monk.
But the fun part of the feast day is the night before. In Northern Europe, particularly Germany, the tradition is that children make lanterns and go door-to-door singing songs and receiving sweets in return. I live in basically a small walled city about 6 blocks by 4 blocks and we celebrate St. Martin’s Eve by processing through the Begijnhof (which is what this area is called). We gather at the church and the University Carillon Master starts to play as adults and children walk through the streets for about 45 minutes. The Germans in the group know the songs and the children sing right along. The adults shuffle behind the children looking forward to the glühwein at the end but, of course, the children are given hot chocolate! Apparently in Germany, the procession is led by a man dressed as a Roman solder on a white horse, which is really dramatic.
The only holiday missing in Belgium in November is Thanksgiving. Though most people in Belgium know of our American Thanksgiving and wish that they had a similar day.
Next, December traditions...