I spent a couple of months working in the US this fall and returned to Belgium the end of October. I arrived just in time for a few nice days and the arrival of early snow. While snow in November is the norm in Minnesota or Iowa, this year’s 5 inches of snow is only the 6th time there has been snow in November since 1830 when Belgium became a country. The hope is that this is not a monthly pattern or it will be a long winter. As you can imagine, biking in snow is tough.
Celebrations
St. Martin’s Day
One entertaining aspect of Europe is the various feast days, festivals and commemorations celebrating the end of the plague or a war. This year in my community known as the Groot Begijnhof, we had a St. Martin’s Day parade. This is a German tradition that celebrates the Feast Day of St. Martin of Tours. The story is he was a Roman soldier who was stopped by a beggar on a cold winter night and asked for part of his cloak. St. Martin, took out his sword, split the cloak in two and gave the man half. As luck would have it, the beggar was Christ.
So in Germany, these celebrations are usually led by a man dressed as a Roman soldier riding a horse. All the children make lanterns place candles on the inside and follow St. Martin through the streets singing various St. Martin Day songs. At the end of the parade there is hot chocolate and St. Martin cookies (which look a lot like gingerbread men). So in our little community we walked around our 5 square block area while the carillon in the church played various songs including “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (the organist has a sense of humor). The children carried various lantern made from paper and coffee cans lit by a small votive candle swinging from sticks as we walked up and down the cobblestone streets. I was lame and went for the candle in a jar trick, effective, but not very ascetic. And at the end of the evening, we had our hot chocolate and cookies.
Saint Nicholas Day
This is a very big celebration in Northern Europe. December 6 is the feast of St. Nicholas who was a bishop in Turkey and known as the patron saint of children. Children put their shoes out at night and on the morning of the 6th, they find oranges, chocolate and sometimes a gift from St. Nicholas. If they are bad, they receive a lump of coal.
Our parish community drew names and then each person purchased a small gift for the person and wrote a poem or letter from St. Nicholas to the person. The idea is that the person does not know who gives them the gift. We had a meal the afternoon of the 5th with the gift exchange and reading of poems afterwards. I was amazed at the creativity of the letters and poems. The person who had my name must of looked me up on the internet because the person wrote about things in my life and interests that people here would not know. It was a fun evening and a special tradition. Because gifts are given on the 6th, I think the gift giving at Christmas is greatly reduced.
City Hall at night.
Christmas Season
By the time I returned from Thanksgiving in the US, the Christmas season had kicked off in Leuven and is celebrated differently. I haven’t see a Santa Claus yet, I guess because Saint Nicholas is celebrated the 6th and that is it.
The trees along the streets and pedestrian walkways are decorated with strings of white lights or decorations made up of white lights. Many store windows are tastefully decorated with red balls or ribbon or wrapped gifts but it is certainly not overdone. Thankfully, there is no cheesy Christmas music blaring on the streets or in the stores.
As I have mentioned in earlier letters, the stores here close at 6:00pm and are not open on Sunday’s. The store hours don’t change for Christmas. I have not told my friends here about how American’s camp out in front of stores for 5 hours before they open on a national holiday. They would not understand the concept because on a national holiday in Belgium, the stores are closed. The one concession to the holidays is that because Christmas and New Year are on Saturday this year which are normal shopping days, stores are allowed to open for several Sundays in December.
We also have a Christmas market on two squares that flank the main university library. The market is not as elaborate as those found in Germany, which are a class unto themselves, but the glühwein tastes pretty darn good. Christmas markets don’t seem to be so much about the shopping, though some of that occurs, but are really social gatherings. There are many booths with food and drink and each one as their own crowd, some young and some old, eating, drinking and talking. It seems in the US, people gather at the malls while here, the place to be seen is at the outdoor Christmas market.
A part of the Christmas festivities is the large creche scene with live sheep situated opposite of city hall covered with hundreds of lights. We also have carousels and other rides for the children. In Brussels there is a ferris wheel with enclosed cabins and a spectacular view of the city.
Christmas in Belgium is a magical season, it seems that there is enough to make it special but not so much that people lose sight of the joy of being with family and friends during the holiday.
All the best to you during this Advent, Hanukkah and Christmas season.