My daughter Katie was born in Luxembourg. We lived there the first two years of her life. I have always said that I would teach her the traditions of Luxembourg, which is not hard for me because a lot of their traditions come from the Dutch, and I am predominantly Dutch in heritage.
Around the end of November / beginning of December, the "Klees'chen" (known as Sinterklaas by the Dutch) can be seen on many occasions as he comes to all the shops, and receives the children for photosessions. According to Luxembourg legend, "Klees'chen" brought back to life 3 children who were savagely killed by a butcher, ready to be turned into sausages. Being a good-natured children-loving sort of a guy, he promptly resurrected the kids with God's allmighty help ...
"Klees'chen", in fact, is none else but St. Nicholas. Now, St. Nicholas lives in Spain, not the North Pole. I can see how St. Nicholas has it a little better than Santa. Let's see... Sunny Spain, or Arctic Wasteland North Pole. Ole, baby.
During the night of the 5th to the 6th December (his day) he and his counterpart "Hoùseker" (=Black Peter) enter the houses and bring the children presents in the guise of (originally oranges and nuts and the occasional pair of socks) toys which can range from simple Lego to complex computers. The children put out plates on which the legendary figures bestow their gifts. But already days beforehand they put their shoes on the windowsill or in front of their bedroom door, so that "Klees'chen" -who goes his rounds to check on children to see whether they deserve any presents- can drop chocolates and other sweets into them. Hoùseker is dressed in coarse black clothes and he carries sticks with which he is said to chastise naughty children. You can also hear frustrated mothers in the shops close to the end of November threatening their kids that if they don't behave, Black Peter will come and kidnap them and take them away. A little too dark for me, but I actually saw a guy dressed up as Black Peter, and he had some fake legs sticking out of his bag (I sure hope they were fake) and it made the whole thing a little funnier.
"Klees'chen", in fact, is none else but St. Nicholas. Now, St. Nicholas lives in Spain, not the North Pole. I can see how St. Nicholas has it a little better than Santa. Let's see... Sunny Spain, or Arctic Wasteland North Pole. Ole, baby.
During the night of the 5th to the 6th December (his day) he and his counterpart "Hoùseker" (=Black Peter) enter the houses and bring the children presents in the guise of (originally oranges and nuts and the occasional pair of socks) toys which can range from simple Lego to complex computers. The children put out plates on which the legendary figures bestow their gifts. But already days beforehand they put their shoes on the windowsill or in front of their bedroom door, so that "Klees'chen" -who goes his rounds to check on children to see whether they deserve any presents- can drop chocolates and other sweets into them. Hoùseker is dressed in coarse black clothes and he carries sticks with which he is said to chastise naughty children. You can also hear frustrated mothers in the shops close to the end of November threatening their kids that if they don't behave, Black Peter will come and kidnap them and take them away. A little too dark for me, but I actually saw a guy dressed up as Black Peter, and he had some fake legs sticking out of his bag (I sure hope they were fake) and it made the whole thing a little funnier.
As for Christmas itself, you can see that with "Klees'chen" around, the title of Father Christmas has a lot of rivalry. In Luxembourg, being predominantly devout Catholic, the baby Christ actually brings the christmas gifts overnight instead of Santa, although the custom differs from family to family. In the early evening on Christmas Eve the whole family gathers around the Christmas tree for snacks and talks (A Christmas tree is almost a Must in Luxembourg). At midnight many a family goes to Midnight Mass, always a welcome excuse for children to stay up long. The presents which lie under the tree are opened either before or after church.
Since they have their own language in Luxembourg (Lëtzebuergesch), they say "Schéi Chrëschtdeeg" for "Merry Christmas", which transliterates into 'have nice christmas-days'.
Traditional foods over the Christmas period are "Stollen", a kind of fruit loaf with rum as cake and "Bûche de Noël" as icecream (both are in the shape of a log). On Christmas Day the traditional dinner often features Black pudding or civet of hare, or venison, or something equally nasty, but it may also consist of turkey like in the States (The main thing seems to be that there must be millions of calories).
After the meal the whole family likes to go for a walk which is particularly nice if there is snow(there is always snow for Christmas in Luxembourg). Boxing Day (or St. Stephen's Day) is spent in a similar fashion, e.g. eating vast quantities of food, which is done -more often than not- whilst visiting friends and relatives.
During the weeks before Christmas, markets flourish all over the country selling dried flower arrangements, Christmas trees, candles, etc. Usually the Christmas Market in Luxembourg City is held from December 7 to 24 on the "Place d'Armes" in the pedestrian centre of the city. From wooden huts that are set up on the tree-lined square, all sorts of christmassy goods are on sale: locally produced Arts and Crafts (candles, Christmas tree decorations, cribs, etc), and of course plenty of Food and Drink to warm you from the inside. The latter include the obligatory mulled wines, as well as the stronger stuff (e.g. schnaps, known as "Drëpp"). Foods on sale include various soups (with or without Mettwurscht [a local sausage speciality]), pancakes, Thüringer, ... , plus the unpronouncable: "Gromperekichelcher". The bandstand in the centre of the square is also in use: A whole host of local bands, fanfares, choirs, etc, are performing, bringing to life the true Christmas atmosphere.
Luxembourg has snow just about every Christmas, and this year has seen the first snows already, so bets are on that it will once again be a "White Christmas".
I am very adamant that my daughter will have these traditions taught to her because they are part of her heritage and I want her to be proud of where she came from. It is also nice for me to be able to observe traditions that are part of my own Dutch heritage.
1 comment:
Thanks Jinxy! This was very enlightening. There are subtle differences among the two countries, although my relatives in the south of Holland travel frequently to Belgium.
I only saw the city center briefly, and wish we could have stayed.
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