Celebrating Christmas in Belgium

Just like all the individual European nations, Belgium has its own unique style of celebrating holidays. Throughout Belgium, you can find a mix of traditional Christmas celebrations and Belgian foods.

Santa(s): Who’s bringing your presents?

There are two Santa Claus figures – St Nicholas and Pere Noel. Depending in which part of Belgium people live, they celebrate Christmas in different ways. Celebrations can be similar to the traditions of Dutch, French or German culture. For example, St. Nicholas visits those who speak the Walloon language (a dialect of French from parts of Belgium), while those who speak French are visited by Pere Noel. Read more about Sinterklaas.

The first visit is on 4 December, when St Nicholas evaluates which children were good and which children were bad. On the evening of 5 December, he returns to reward the good children with gifts of candy and toys.

Children leave out their shoes or baskets beside the door for their gifts. They may also leave back some hay for his horse. Children who were naughty receive warnings from their parents that they will receive a bunch of wooden sticks.

The Feast of St Nicholas is on 6 December, St. Nicholas’s birthday. The day begins with a family church service, followed by a meal that includes delicious cakes and puddings.

Belgian Christmas food and celebrations

On Christmas Eve (‘Kerstavond‘ in Dutch and ‘le reveillion de Noel‘ in Walloon), a special Belgian Christmas meal is prepared at home for the family to enjoy together. The lavish meal begins with a drink (aperitif) and nibbles, with a starter course (such as seafood) and the main course (usually turkey) afterward.

Christmas is on 25 December. It is a religious occasion, with services in churches and quiet family gatherings. Families bake special cakes and serve them during the holiday season.

A traditional dessert is a chocolate Christmas log, made of sponge roll, layered with cream. This is ‘Kerststronk‘ or ‘la buche de Noel‘. Chocolate buttercream covers the outside of the dessert and it is prepared in a way to resemble a bark-covered log.

Gift-giving in Belgium

Children get gifts under the Christmas tree but this is not the same everywhere. In some families, they buy gifts for each other and put them under the tree. There is no Santa to bring the gifts.

New Year’s in Belgium

Belgians also wait with anticipation for New Year’s Eve. It is also Sint Sylvester Vooranvond or Saint Sylvester Eve. Parties celebrate reveillon or New Year’s Eve. At midnight everyone kisses, exchanges good luck greetings and drinks toasts to absent relatives and friends. The cities, cafes, and restaurants are full of people bidding farewell to the old year.

New Year’s Day is Nieuwjaarsdagand and at this time of year children save money to buy special stationery for writing holiday greetings to parents. The motifs are golden cherubs and angels, colored roses and ribbon-tied garlands. On New Year’s morning, the children read what they have written to their parents.