Christmas in Belgium

In many ways Christmas in Belgium is a lot like Christmas in Britain. However, there are a few little differences between our two small countries.

The Belgians like mulled wine, but in French it's called hot wine. Crazy or what?

We have a Christmas log, or Yule log, whereas the Belgians have this thing called a Bush de Noel. They also have this beer called Bush, and at Christmas they bring out a special version called Bush de Noel. The beer is delicious. The pun is not.

They eat this large sweet bread loaf type thing called a cougnons. I can't pronounce it, but I do enjoy eating it. It's like a scone, though slightly sweeter and more moist. For added significance they put a marzipan Jesus on top.

For many Belgians the present giving starts on Christmas Eve, and when it's over they go to midnight mass.

The Belgians have no idea what Christmas crackers are. I bought a box in Sterling, the English bookshop in Brussels, and they caused much delight amongst my students. That delight ended when they read the jokes that are inside the cracker. Here's one that failed to win them over to English humour: Who wore the first shell suit? Humpty Dumpty.

One of the most important differences is that, for kids at least, St. Nicolas comes first and Father Christmas second. I had an interesting discussion with a student who said that when she was a child St. Nicolas was much more important than Father Christmas, but now they're more or less the same. Sad really. I hate seeing local customs being swallowed up by western hegemony. There's also a tragic irony in the fact that the character of Father Christmas was based largely on St. Nicolas. In case you don't know, he was a 19th century priest in Holland who delivered presents to needy children. Coca Cola took that idea, gave him a magic sleigh and some reindeer and voila.

Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noel.