Figure 1.--. |
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Christmas can not be translated perfectly from country to country. Christmas in America is both a religious (baby Jesus) and a secular (Santa) holiday. In other countries the two or separated and in some cases other special days like Boxing Day and Three Kings Day included in the holiday season. Belgium and the Netherlands tend to see Christmas as a purely religious holiday and St. Nicholas Day earlier in September as a separate holiday. There are other complications. Nerchants are trying to introduce Father Christmas who has become well established in France, but so far with only limited success.
Belgians do give each other presents which are put under the Christmas tree on Sunday morning, however they are given from person to person and nobody would suggest that it's Santaclaus or Father Christmas (de Kerstman) who brought them. A reader writes, "My sister says that some devout people even take offense at what they see as commercialization and profanation of Christmas. They do have a point in the sense that Sinterklaas and Christmas celebrations are two very distinct and different traditions in our countries (Belgium and the Netherlands). It may be a little different to understand for Americans, who tend to see Santaclaus as the exact equivalent of Sinterklaas, with which he shares little more than the name. Sinterklaas isn't part of the 'festive season" (de feestdagen) which is from Christmas (December 25) to New Year (January 1). Nobody would take a day off at Sinterklaas, but between December 25 and January everybody is either off, or on call, or working duty shifts."
Merchants have been promoting Father Christmas and, recently, Halloween, to boost their turnover. Neither has caught on to a large extent in Belgium, possibly because Christmas was untill recently an essentially religious celebration. Here we are not sure if Father Christmas has made more inroads in Wlonia--the French speaking area of Belgium. French speakers tend to be more influenced by French trends then the Flesish speakers in Flanders. Father Christmas in France has largely displaced the older tradition of St. Nicolas.
The Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) and Christmas are very similar, but not identical with the celebrations in Belgium. A Dutch reader in Belgium writes, "In fact almost everything on that page is applicable to Belgium too, including the Rent-a-Sinterklaas, as I have experienced recently. Even the sinterklaasliedjes (St Nicholas songs) are the same. I consulted with my sister who is living in Antwerp and asked if today's practice is any different from what we were used to when we grew up there as children of Dutch parents. She says that Sinterklaas is still very much a living tradition and indeed the main present giving event for children. The only difference, she says, is that few Belgian adults follow the Dutch tradition of accompanying their gift with a humourous, gently teasing poem. Thus in Belgium Sinterklaas tends to be almost exclusively a celebration for children."
A Dutch reader in Belgium writes, "Christmas and the New Year's celebrations are perceived as something which we share with the world, whereas Sinterklaas is seen, in both Belgium and Holland, as a local tradition, very much a determiner of our national identities. Of course the advent of the global village and increasing secularization may well change all this."
Belgium is a culturally divided country. In Flanders the population speaks Flemish (a dialect of Dutch) and cultural trends are very similar to those in the Netherlands. In Walonia the population speaks French and cultural trends are strongly influenced by French trends. There are areas in Belgium where the populations is sgnificantly mixed, but also areas that are primarily one of the two cultural groups. We are unsure to what extent the Chritmas celebration is impacted by this cultural divide.
It is interesting that the Dutch and Belgian celebration of Sinterklaas is so different than the American Santa Claus tradition. Actually Santa Clause is largely a tradition inherited from the Dutch. We say the Dutch rather than the Belgians. The Dutch founded New York (New Amsterdam) which was later taken over by the British. The British largely left Dutch society in tact and there was such Dutch emigratiin even after the English take over. Very few Belgians, however, emigrated to America both beefore and after modern Belgium was created (1830). We are not entirely sure why, but the reluctance of Catholic Belgians to emigrate to a largely Protestant country was a factor.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Website holiday pages:
[Return to the Main European Christmas page]
[Return to the Main national Christmas page]
[Return to the Main holiday page]
[Return to the Main Belgian activity page]
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