DIVE INTO THE
Social life of Belgium
Belgium is known for its quality chocolate, waffles, fries and beers. The basic traditional ingredients of Belgium cuisine are leeks, white asparagus. The staple food are bread and potatoes. Seafood, including mussels with fries and waterzooi is popular in some of the Northern cities. Belgian families are in general consume big amount of dairy products, and butter is more favoured to cook, instead of oil. The national drink is beer, but wine is imported in large quantities. The popular way to each French fries is with steaks or minced raw meat. However, with the greater amount immigrations, which has brought a diversity of ethnic restaurants, the eating habits of Belgians have gradually changed along the time.
When meeting Belgians for the first time, you are expected to have a handshake, which is a common greeting way for Belgian culture. Once you are familiar with each other, 3 kisses on the cheek could be replaces, while men always shake hands with each other. In Belgian culture, Okay gesture means Zero, snapping fingers might be considered impolite, and back slapping maybe considered offensive. You might need to socialise for a few minute before really starting a meeting, and raise your hand and make eye contact with waiters instead of calling out. When you are invited to a Belgian house, you could choose to bring some flowers with odd number when visiting the host, except white chrysanthemums as they symbolise death. If you bring some gifts, they will be opened in front of the giver and you are expected to finish all the food on the plate!
Belgians love having festivals so that nearly every city and town has its own festivals, not for attracting tourists but more for celebrating for themselves.
Bizarre figures in Carnivals in Binche
Carnivals in Binche is celebrated during the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Men will dress in high, plumped hats, bright costumes and bizarre masks, and lead the procession on the streets, which has been celebrated since the 14th century.
Saint Nicholas, a second Santa
Sinterklaas, as an official public holiday, takes place on December 6th each year. This is considered as a pre-celebration of Christmas. On the day, kids would receive the presents that they wished for in a letter to ‘De Sint’, sent by a figure called Black Pete who has been a controversial characters in recent years.
Ducasse de Mons
This festival is what Mons’ locals perceive as one their most famous festival. It is celebrated every year on the Trinity Sunday, 57 days after Easter. It is to celebrate the success of driving away the plague after the procession in the 14th century.
If you love The Adventures of Tintin, then it’s definitely interesting to visit Belgium, as the author Hergé, full name Georges Prosper Remi, was Belgian. So as Peyo, who’s best-known works are the comic strips The Smurfs, and Franquin - Spirou & Fantasio. On the page of Brussels, you will find interesting routes if you want to visit all the graffitis aournd the city!
Other than comics, there are also numerous museums and galleries to explore other types of art pieces. For example, the Royal Museum for Fine Arts in Antwerp - collection of works by Peter Paul Rubens, and the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp which is a world heritage site; the Groeningemuseum in Bruges with the Flemish Primitives; the MAS (Museum Man de Stroom) which is the biggest museum in Belgium; and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels that has a cinema, a concert hall and artworks of many periods.
