Waffles for New Year's Eve

In the whole world, waffles are commonly associated with Belgium. Sometimes it's the only thing people remember about that country, which is unfortunate. However, we are still proud of our national pastry, so why not offer this for New Year's Eve?

The origin of waffles is still debated. People say they are very similar to Middle Ages small religious 'breads', because two irons were used to make them. Yet, around the 13rd century, it happened that a blacksmith invented a mould mimicking honeycombs. The dish resulting of this moulding was called 'wafel' in Dutch, which means 'honeycomb' (cf. 'weave' in English, because bees weave them). It was sold in the streets by very poor people or offered to beggars on New Year's Eve as a biblical custom, which is why in some Walloon dialects, they are called 'strènes' ('New Year gifts/tips').

However, these waffles were not sugary at all, and it's only in the 18th century that waffles made of honey, eggs and milk appeared. People found them so sweet and delicious that the dish extended to the whole country and many local recipes were created (almost a waffle a city).

 Brussels waffles

One of the most famous type is Brussels waffles. They are light and crunchy rectangular and sugar, cream, jam, chocolate or fruits are often added on them. If you wander across the streets close to Manneken Pis, you will find many shops that sell those to tourists. They were invented in the half of the 19th century and made popular in the whole world after the first Universal Exhibition in 1958, bringing up the name of 'Belgian waffles'.

Liège waffle

Yet, another sort is becoming even more famous among tourists: Liège waffles. These can be easily distinguished from their Brussels cousin in that they are smaller, round and softer. Usually, small pieces of sugar are incorporated to the dough and people in Liège (Wallonia) often add cinnamon to it, making it all scented. You will find different shops in the center of Liège, but they are also sold in Brussels. A legend says a cooker was asked by the Prince-Bishop of Liège to create a new pastry similar to a brioche in the 18th century and he got the idea to make it a waffle.

'Lukken' from West-Flanders

As said earlier, the waffle tradition concerns the whole country, because other recipes can be found in Flanders too. A type found in West-Flanders, now mainly encountered as wafers (small waffles), is called 'lukken' or New Year wafers. Those are butter waffers typically offered to family for New Year's Eve so as to bring them luck ('lukken' in Dutch). A famous brand of lukken is those made by Jules Destrooper, which are now devoured in the whole country.

Now which one will be your favourite? Post a comment!

A German-speaking community in Belgium

Today is the official day celebrating the German-speaking community of Belgium. A lot is said about the two major communities, the Flemish one and the Walloon-Brussels one, but so many people forget about our German community, which is also officially recognized, with German being the third official language in this beautiful country. I've spent a lot of time in that area so that I can tell you a little more about it.

But please people, don't go too quickly on it thinking this is just a couple of Germans who wanted to find shelter in Belgium, not at all. Actually, their history is a bit more intricate...

First of all, let's make a difference between what's called East Cantons ("Ostbelgien" in German) and the German-speaking community, which is part of East Cantons. Also two Walloon cities (Malmedy and Waimes) are part of East Cantons and tolerate the use of German for official purposes. East Cantons were actually part of Germany until 1920, but they were annexed by Belgium after World War I. Then, they were German again in World War II before becoming Belgian for good after it.

In 1973, the country was divided into three communities (Flemish, French speakers - including the two Walloon cities of East Cantons - and German speakers). So, nine cities are currently part of the German-speaking community, which is itself divided in two areas: the Belgian Eifel (the continuation of a large countryside/forest area starting in Germany) and the Land of Eupen (closer to Flemish Limburg). The capital of this community is Eupen.

 Official flag of the community

Also, there are three official regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels area), BUT no German-speaking region, so that nowadays a Belgian German speaker has different identities :
- German speaker
- part of Wallonia (but not a "Walloon" in the ethnic sense), namely the Province of Liège
- Belgian
Also, there are German speakers (or people who speak a German dialect) in other parts of the country, like the Province of Luxembourg, but they usually have French as a main language.
 
These people are often called Germans by ignorants (including Belgians)... So, just because they speak German doesn't mean they're German (in the same way as Walloons are no French and Flemish are no Dutch). Rather they have this triple identity and consider themselves to be Belgians, although they have affinities with surrounding cities such as Cologne and Aachen. Usually, they are bilingual (German-French) like fifty-fifty. They often get a superior education in Liège in French. When they speak French, their accent is very similar to people from Liège but with a German feeling to it. Oh and by the way, if you speak French, you will think that those who say "une fois" (once) in all their sentences are from Brussels, but nowadays German-speaking Belgians are those who use this expression most frequently (e.g. "passe-moi une fois le sel" for "bring me the salt, please"). And last but not least, nearly all these people don't want to be independent from Belgium, they just want a German-speaking region.

This area is quiet, not very populated and full of nature, countryside and forests. You can also find two enjoyable lakes (Butgenbach and Robertville) where to go on caravaning in the summer and it is also the best place in Belgium to ski, because the snow is so thick in comparison to the rest of Belgium, which is at a lower altitude. In these places, you will find peaceful hospitable people who are happy to live in such nice land and a lot of Dutch and Flemish tourists...

 Isn't that charming?

 

 

Share your impressions of this beautiful area in the comments below!

One country, two Justin Biebers

The unexpected happened in Belgium with the uprising success of Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It happened after his haircut was imitated by basically all teens whipping their hair in a manly way (!) and adjusting their NY caps to look like true "brothers". This small country, which he probably doesn't know of (when asked about the German origin of his name, he said he didn't know what "German" was!), has given birth to two Bieberclones. And guess what... one is a Flemish and the other one is a Walloon! Fierce competition going on...

Flemish Bieber

The Flemish version of Justin Bieber is 16-year-old Ian Thomas. His father is a Flemish actor and his mother a Dutch choregrapher. The teenager decided one day to sing a Dutch version of the hitsong "Baby". This song was at first released as a Youtube video and then became full-shaped a single. Quickly, the song reached #1 of the Flemish charts. He then got also famous in the Netherlands as well and many girls were crazy about him.

Yet recently he published a music video called "Haters" in which he appeared more agressive and full of frustration. In the track, he rapped violently against his bullies, who he said called him names (e.g. "gay") and he often had the police escort him to school and cried in his bed at nights. Although the goal of the video was to stop all attacks against him, it resulted the opposite. Tons of negative comments were posted on his video, which led his mother to ask for the video to be removed from Youtube...

Walloon Bieber

On the other hand, you have Christopher Hagelstein, who is better known as Chris Bieber, the Walloon Justin Bieber. This huge "belieber", aged 20, adopted the complete look of his idol and decided to sing his own song alongside a couple of rapper friends. The music video was published on Youtube and got noticed by a Belgian youtubers, although he didn't get as famous as Ian Thomas, probably due to the quality of his lyrics and singing... Yet the story came to the French media's ears and he was interviewed a number of times and a documentary was made about him.

Recently, however, the young Walloon celebrity's life was plunged into sadness, as on April 4th he had a car crash with his 10-year-old brother. Both were transferred to a local hospital, but only Chris survived, which gave rise to a number of criticisms on the singer for being responsible of his younger brother's death.

All in all, both Justin Bieber look-alikes have in common not only their passion for the Canadian singer, but also a tragic history, with a lot of criticisms and attacks against them. Some people will say that it's because young girls love Justin Bieber so much that young boys hate him even more by pure jealousy... I personally... don't care about him, but I hope these two Belgian singers will have a peaceful life.

Music: Flemish reluctant to listen to their own language

Here is an unfortunate fact about Flanders... Flemish youngsters listen less and less to songs in Flemish! In recent TV-shows like Idool or The Voice van Vlaanderen, almost all artists sang in English, some tried in French too, but the only two songs in Dutch were bashed by the jury. This may be the symptom of a lack of self-confidence among the Flemish. This article will show how the only genre in which Flemish language is still successful is hiphop!

Some Flemish bands have become famous worldwide. They're creative and, in the manner of Scandinavian musicians, they are good at singing in English. In that way, bands singing in English constitute most of current Flemish musics. For example, Hooverphonic, Selah Sue, K's Choice or Soulwax, have made the Flemish music scene as what it is today. Flemish people are often "musicoholic" and have quite ecclectic tastes... Studio Brussel, a Flemish indie radio, also a branch of national broadcasting VRT, is a perfect showcase of what Flemish youth listen to today.

A longlasting tendency in Flanders is to listen to French music ("chanson française"), perhaps because French used to be the only official language in Belgium and it had prestige. Did you know that Jacques Brel's family was Flemish? Probably not, because he only sang and spoke French on TV. Today, young people listen to chansons a little less (maybe because learning French is not considered as enjoyable), but some artists like Stromae, from Brussels, hit the charts in Flanders and sing in French. A few Flemish artists have sung in French too: Arno (rock), Axelle Red (pop-jazz), Vive la Fête (electro) or more recently dEUS (rock). All of them are famous in both linguistics communities today and youngsters like them.

Vive la Fête

Let's talk about songs in Dutch or Flemish dialects that people listen to nowadays. Last century saw a revival of folk musics from Flanders (maybe in link with the rise of Flemish nationalism). These songs, called today "schlagers" (a German word meaning "hits"), are often sung in dialects. Young people rarely listen to them, but they may enjoy them at carnivals or folkloric festivals, in which everyone drinks beer and dances. Otherwise, it sounds a bit too old-fashioned.

 A parody of Flemish slagers

Next, we find a few pop-rock bands that have songs in Flemish, like Clouseau, De Kreuners, Gorki or De Mens. Some of their songs are actually quite cool. Yet, there are not a lot of them and they are getting a bit outdated, as they are to be classified as 80s or 90s bands. Today, some of them still release songs, but they are not as famous as they used to be anymore.

De Kreuners (80s band)

Finally, as a matter of fact the music in Flemish that youngsters listen to the most is actually... hiphop! Actually, rap has always been about what's happening in your own town and it has to be very slangy, so that it is easier to write rap lyrics in your own language. That's why young Flemish people still enjoy hearing their language in rap songs. Dutch hiphop, also called "Nederhop", is quite famous in Flanders, with bands like The Opposites or De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig ("nowaday's youth"). Yet, some Flemish rap bands also gain a regional success, such as Tourist LeMC (Antwerp), Safi & Spreej (Mechelen), 't Hof van Commerce (West Flanders), etc. Their songs, like schlagers, often have their lyrics in Flemish dialects, and it is probably through the hiphop genre that you can learn the most local phrases, mixed with English or French catchphrases.

Safi & Spreej

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You can also suggest me other nice Flemish artists!

Next Belgian language?

Belgium is and is becoming more and more multilingual, with the three communities officially recognized and the thousands of ethnicities living there and practicising their own language, especially in Brussels. This is why Belgium has developed a "thing" with languages... So if you can't give the priority to "one" language in the country, why not invent one that would be more neutral?

When it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest, only Sandra Kim, a woman from Liège, won the competition in the 80s and was actually too young to compete so that she had to lie on her age. No artist won since then, but Urban Trad went to the second place in 2003 by singing in... an imaginary language! The band was pretty "Belgian" in that it was a collection of folk artists from both Flemish and French-speaking communities (and a Galician singer). What better way to make everyone agree on a song than singing their songs "Sanomi" in a language that has actually no meaning (!) Apparently, the gestures invented for the song were meaningful (I think they meant something like "it's a small world, let's all share our differences"). Later on, Flemish folk band Ishtar tried to do the same thing with "O Julissi" but didn't get a nice score.

Urban Trad - "Sanomi"

Another interesting fact about Belgium is that it has a small territory which could have be the only place in which international auxiliary language Esperanto would have been official. Moresnet, as it is called, was a village connecting the Netherlands, Belgium (which was included in the Netherlands) and Germany (former Prussia) from 1816 to 1920, in what is now known as the "Three Country Point". An agreement was made on that Prussia would get a part of the village, the Netherlands another one and the center would become a "neutral" territory (Neutral Moresnet) administrated by both countries. In 1908, Dr. Molly gave the idea to make Esperanto the official language of the territory (that he wanted to call "Amikejo", which could be translated as "Friendland"), because it had been invented recently and got famous in whole Europe at that time. People in that place learned Esperanto and the place was elected world capital of the Esperanto community, although this idea never got official. Today, the territory is part of Belgium.

Moresnet flag

The author of comic book Tintin, Hergé, imagined two fictive Eastern European nations in conflict: Borduria and Syldavia. To make them look more realistic, he made up words in languages called Bordurian and Syldavian. On closer scrutiny of the latter language, it is clearly inspired of Marols (also called Brusseleer), a dialect spoken in Brussels, but the author chose to make them look like a Slavic language (e.g. Eih bennek, eih blavek, the national motto, seems to be close to Dutch Hier ben ik, hier blijf ik, lit. "Here I am, here I stay"). In a parallel universe, Marols could be the perfect interlanguage of Belgium, because it has features of both languages of the community. It is actually based on Brabant dialect (which seems to become a prestige form in Flanders nowadays) and includes many French words, due to the "mixed" origins of the population that used it in Marollen, a district of Brussels that is worth a visit! People in this area like to call themselves "zinneke", a word that means "mixed-breed", and compare their culture to a melting pot.

A last idea of made up language that could be used in Belgium is called Europanto. It is a mixture of languages of the European Union that was invented by Diego Marani, a translator for the Council. His idea was that instead of using English as a lingua franca in the UE (especially in Brussels headquarters), you should rather use bits and pieces of all languages spoken in there. He called his language Euro- (Europe) -panto (Greek for "all"), which resembles the word Esperanto.

Alors glaubst ti that Europa sarebbe besser así? (So do you believe that Europe would be better this way?)

Which language should be used in Belgium? Share your opinion!

The "Wallirony"

Belgium is a small country and the French-speaking community (Wallonia and Brussels) represent hardly half of its population, but it can still be divided into areas that have their own features and stereotypes... A Flemish geography teacher in Etterbeek (a commune of Brussels) wanted to teach his pupils what the French-speaking community looked like. He drew a map of Wallonia and divided it in three zones: Wallifornia, Wallabama and Wallbania. These names were portmanteaux of Wallonia and respectively California, Alabama and Albania. The negative connotation of the last one made a lot of Albanians living in Belgium angry. The clumsy parallel made between the country and the "poor" areas of Wallonia was quite unfortunate. Although I don't really agree with this division, I will talk about each of these fictive regions of the French-speaking community, mainly because this article focuses on stereotypes. 

Wallifornia is the "rich" part of the community. It mainly includes Brussels, the Walloon Brabant and Namur (the capital of Wallonia). The common cliché depicts the inhabitants as being pretentious rich guys who drive fancy cars and tend to speak in a fake French accent, especially in Uccle (a commune of Brussels).
The word was adopted sarcastically in "Pope of the Dope", an electro song by Party Harder and the Subs, in which the leader appeared in a Saint Nicholas costume saying obnoxious things to kids.

As a matter of fact, Brussels is a bit different from Wallonia and people living there do not identify as Walloons. The capital stuck in the middle of Flanders is a "melting pot", a mix of Flemish, Walloon and foreign cultures, being considered as the "center of Europe" (it has the highest rate of immigrants and the most given birthname is Mohamed!). Brussels is a busy place and a lot of Walloons have gone to Brussels to study or to work. Some of them decided they were here to stay and others still commute every day, creating giant trafic jams. In general, people from Brussels like to make fun of Walloons, because they think Wallonia is a boring place where nothing happens and where people speak in a funny accent. Both regions actually have their accent, but more and more people from Brussels tend to speak a more standard French.

Next, Wallabama represents the forested area of Wallonia, mainly the Belgian Ardennes. It includes most of the Belgian Luxembourg, a Belgian province not to be confused with the Grand Duchy (where some Belgians go to find a job and pay less taxes(!)) and the southern part of Liège province. It is the least populated areas in Belgium. A lot of Belgians see it as the countryside and the cliché is to consider people from that place as peasants... 

 

The Belgian Ardennes

Finally, Wallbania is considered to be the "poor" side of Wallonia, which used to be industrialized with a lot of miners coming from abroad. Now these places are struck by a high rate of unemployment, because some industries had to close shop. 

This includes most Hainaut province, including Charleroi and Mons. Charleroi is called the "black country", because the inhabitants were coal miners and came home covered in black, it is often seen as the most polluted place in Belgium. Mons is a part of Belgium in which the culture and dialect is close to that of the "North" in France (where they speak "Ch'ti", a Picard dialect). 

Also the city of Liège can be added to this area, as Arcelor Mittal factories closed recently, making a lot of people unemployed. This city and its province have a very recognizeable accent, which is different from the rest of Wallonia. People with that accent sound as if they had a cold, because they are unable to produce nasal vowels. A significant figure of this city is Michel Daerden, a Minister and mayor of Ans (a commune of the province), known for speaking relatively slowly and being constantly drunk, who gained popularity in Wallonia (they called him "Papa") before passing away last year.

These parts of Wallonia are known for having a lot of immigrants. It is interesting to see that a lot of Italian families, offspring of invited labours, still live in Belgium and represent the majority of immigrated populations in Wallonia, while the rate is much lower in Flanders. For instance, the current Belgian Prime Minister, Elio Di Rupo (recognizable by his red bowtie), immigrated from Italy as a kid. He is also the first Prime Minister to be publically out of the closet...

Elio Di Rupo

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French fries are Belgian fries!

Let's get back to stereotypes and focus this time on how Wallonia and Brussels see themselves and the rest of the world...

A lot of people have taken for granted the fact that Wallonia and Brussels largely speak French, so that they should simply become a region of France. Actually, France and Belgium have a separate history. Wallonia used to be a mosaic of small realms and principalties. Later on, as both Flanders and Wallonia were part of the Netherlands, they decided to separate from it because they had a different religion (they were catholic and the Netherlands was protestant). A whole lot of Romance and Germanic dialects were spoken in the two areas. At some period, the whole country was a part of France, which made French the language of educated people. It was adopted by rich educated families of both sides, although in Wallonia most people spoke their dialect (in general, a Walloon dialect, but there are also Picard and Lorrain dialects). Later, Walloon kids were educated in French and it was forbidden to speak a dialect at school. This happened in all parts of France as well, but in Belgium, French was really a foreign language at first!

Oufti, quéne biesse! /oohf-TEA kayn be-YES/ 

"Damn, what an idiot!" in Walloon

A relevant cultural difference is the national beverage. In France, wine is the national alcohol, while in Belgium, people largely drink beers. Many beers (Orval, Chimay, Stella-Artois...) are brewed in Wallonia and famous worldwide. Some of them are made by trappist monks!

In general, Belgian French-speakers appear as more genuine and heartwarming to French people. Also, they recognize a Belgian humour, which distinguishes from the French humour in that Belgians like to joke about themselves and their accents, while French people like to make fun of other people and make themselves appear smart in doing that. This Belgian humility is probably due to the small size of the country and the obligation to share it with another community, while France is a big country, internationally known, which only has one official language (some people in France believe Belgians speak a language called... Belgian!). As a consequence, Belgians consider the French to be more arrogant and nervous, and they can't stand their chauvinism.

There has always been contact between French and Belgian people, like when labours were invited to work in both places. Also, a lot of French students come to study in Wallonia (to become speech therapists or vets), because French universities allow less students to register and universities are better considered in Belgium than in France. Many jokes were invented by French people to make fun of these foreign people who spoke French in a different accent, but the relationship between them has always been peaceful. The "Belgian jokes" (as they are called by French people) are basically about Belgian people being stupid (they are exactly the same ones as anti-blonde jokes). Also, the common cliché is that Belgians eat fries every day, because it's their national dish. By the way, a common mistake of English language is to say "French fries". Many Belgians and French people consider fries as being a purely Belgian dish, although a small part of France (called the "North") also has fries as a local dish. This is why Belgians are often pictured as fat people as well. The jokes are usually pronounced in an exagerated Brussels accent. As a reaction, some anti-French jokes also circulate in Belgium, depicting French people as arrogant. Here are examples of both:

Anti-Belgian jokes
Why did Belgians stop hunting ducks? Because they didn't manage to throw their dogs high enough.
What does a Belgian do when the bathtub is too hot? He wears oven mittens.
How do you make a Belgian go mad? Put him in a circular room and tell him you put fries in the corner.

Anti-French jokes
What is a Belgian? A French who studied.
How do you kill a French? Aim way higher than his head to shoot his superiority complex. 
Why are most French highways not lighted at night? Because French people think they are brilliant.

Finally, some people in France and Belgium, including the RWF (a marginal policital party in Belgium), would like Wallonia to be a French region. Yet, most people from both sides don't feel the need for this change and like Belgium as it stands.

I encourage you to post all of your favourite jokes below!