Yes, I realize it’s almost a month after.
Well, the past two months have seen me experience 4 different holidays. Firstly, St. Nicolas on December 6. It’s a holiday for kids where they receive candy, mandarins and toys. It rose up out of a legend that warns children to be wise. We went to my host nephew’s school for a visit of St. Nicolas and then a dinner to raise money for the school. The next day they came over and we woke up Sunday morning to the dining room table covered in the aforementioned items. The boys were so thrilled.
Then naturally, next is Christmas. Contrary to what is typical for me in the states, we celebrated and opened up all the presents on Christmas Eve. I received a CD of Belgian Military Marches and a pair of earrings. It was a pretty calm night all in all. On Christmas my grandma, an aunt and an uncle came over and we had a big meal together. Unfortunately for me it was smoked salmon and duck-two of the foods I dislike the most. But it was nice to see the family and talk to them and have more of a holiday feel. The day before Christmas Eve my sister and I decorated the tree and the rest of the living/dining room.
After Christmas, January 6th is when the wise men arrive to baby Jesus. This is celebrated here, being a mostly Catholic country. We had something called a “galette des Rois” which has a little ceramic figurine inside and whoever finds it in their cake, is the king/queen for the day. My host mom found it and it was a baby Jesus.
Finally, New Years, which was actually really uneventful for me. My plans to have friends over fell through because everyone had other things to do, so I ended up staying home alone because my parents had made plans to go out with friends assuming I’d have people over. I made myself pasta and watched movies while making Christmas cookies alone. Then fireworks started ten minutes before midnight and continued on until 12:45. I got to see about 5 different sets of fireworks since I live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by other towns. I also got to see floating lanterns which were the prettiest things. All in all, it actually was a pretty good New Years for me.
Belgium Calling 