Dec. 6th, Time to Open your Christmas Presents!
Photos used with the kind authorization of the Saint Nicholas Center, Belgium (see link at bottom of post).
Photo 1. Banner from England 2. Postcard from France 3. Postcard from Belgium
Yes, in Belgium, children open their holiday season gifts on December 6th, which is Saint Nicholas ’s Day. Christmas is more an adult celebration.
On that day, both in Flanders and Wallonia, joyful and colorful parades greet St. Nicholas with bands and banners . Saint Nicholas will appear with his donkey, and his mate: Zwarte Piet in Flanders or Père Fouettard in Wallonia.
On St Nick’s Eve, children put their shoes or baskets by the fire places (or beside the door), with some food for the Saint: carrots, turnips and a glass of wine! On the next morning, they will find them filled with treats and toys.
The most traditional treats are Belgian chocolate but also spiced speculoos, the famous Belgian cookies, shaped like the Saint. To learn how to make speculoos, com eon the tour to Belgium we organize with French Escapade.
To know about the story of Saint Nicholas visit the St Nicholas Center at
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38
My name is Jackie Grandchamps. In 2003, I founded French Escapade, offering another way to travel in small groups of 8. "Don't be a tourist, be our guest" is the moto and spirit of my company.
Check www.frenchescapade.com
Through this blog, I will provide information about France, Belgium, California, (soon Italy) but also some stories from my guests on the tours.
Learn more about the company in the French Escapade section of this blog.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Nice blog site, I am a newer blogger and I was searching the web for ideas. I just thought I would leave a comment to say so.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Well, I’m glad you like it and I hope you will come back. You can click on the subscribe button at the top of the site to be noticed each time I post a new article.
See you here soon!