Absolutely nothing to do with diabetes

I'm sulking ever so slightly because I missed out on a trip to Brussels in January, although the man got to go and I'm going to miss out again next week; the man will once again be eating stoemp met worstjes (mashed potatoes and carrots with sausages, the best comfort food) and drinking Orval (a Trappist ale, aka unsweetened nectar) while I hold down things at this end. This sucks.
I'm often asked what I miss about Belgium and I can go on for days about it, but in the interests of brevity I'll just say: the food, the drink, the culture, the surrealism. Sometimes even the weather. For those requiring a little more depth in their answers I suggest they check out An A to Z of Belgium written by an Englishman with an obvious love for the eccentricities of the small country at the heart of Europe.
The one national trait he didn't portray is a love of collecting. All Belgians collect something, the weirder the better. I used to attend language classes (check out the above link for the entry on Language Classes - it's true, very true) with a classical pianist who had the largest collection of flat irons in Belgium, possibly in Europe. Then of course there's Jan Bucquoy's Underwear Museum, though I think it is now closed.
But here is my absolute favourite. Don't mock, the man loves his penguins.




This is why I miss home.

Sinterklaas

I'm still sore from slipping last week but it served me right for putting up the lights before Sinterklaas has visited. This is one of the traditions we bought with us from Belgium and I violated it at my peril.
The Sint (known as St Nicolas in the francophone part of the country) arrives on a boat from Spain at the end of November then treks through the low countries on his horse, accompanied by his helper(s) Zwarte Piet(s). On the evening of Dec 5 he leaves oranges, a chocolate initial and presents in the shoes of good children in The Netherlands, and arrives in Belgium on the morning of the 6th to do the same.
As most Mamas in Belgium work, families celebrate St Nicholas the weekend before but Sintaklaas always visits nurseries and schools on the right day. Only after Sinterklaas has passed through can the xmas decorating begin, and December 25th is more a family celebration than the culmination of retail frenzy.
I shall be singing these songs and a few others until I drive everyone demented and they beg me to stop. It's a happy holiday.