Belgium doesn’t have one but two Christmas figures! In Belgium, Saint Nicholas ( the patron of school children, since he is said to have revived three children that an unscrupulous pork butcher had turned into sausage meat!) and Santa Claus are two different people. Saint Nicholas' Day is primarily a children’s feast. The night before, children will put out carrots for Saint Nicholas’s horse, and in some regions they’ll also leave a glass of beer for his helper Zwarte Piet (Dutch) / Père Fouettard (French). If they had behaved well all year, in the morning they’ll find small toys and sweets in return. A typical biscuit that is baked around Saint Nicholas’ Day is speculoos, which is filled with spices just like gingerbread. And children aren’t the only ones who enjoy this delicious treat as the biscuits pair wonderfully with a nice cup of coffee.

 

In university towns, students leave the classrooms and parade in the streets, singing and drinking. These festivities are funded in part by a collection that the students take up early in the day, beer mugs in hand. Traditionally the burghers who refused to donate were pelted with flour and eggs. Though this tradition is dying out, don't say you haven't been warned!