Toussaint

During the last week of October, I had a very nice vacation which was put to use shopping, going to a party, traveling to Hasselt, sleeping, studying a bit and going to an amusement park called Bobbejenland.

It was nice!

The end of October is typically known for Halloween in the United States but here in  Belgium it is the Catholic holiday of Toussaint that is celebrated and for which we students got a week of vacation and everyone got off the day after Halloween.

But first, explaining a Belgium Halloween! I am used to people going all out for Halloween, even though my family personally never did anything for the holiday. But decorations are everywhere in the United States, here I have seen one flag decorating a house, and a few shops have decorated a little inside.

Costumes are also different here. Kaela and I decided to go to a Halloween party on Halloween with some friends of ours. She was a cat, I a vampire! On arrival we discovered that dressing up wasn't that big a thing in Belgium. About only half the people there attempted a disguise, and this was a party on Halloween!

Now for the holiday of Toussaint. The holiday is not really a sad day, more a day of memories.  It is a day when you visit the graves of your family, just to remember them. Many people participate in this day, even if you may not necessarily be Catholic. I went with my host dad to the cemetery, it was cold and a bit rainy, but it was interesting to see all the graves decorated in flowers and see the family members coming to remember their ancestors.

School now begins again, and I have a few days off during the month but none for Thanksgiving because of course it us not celebrated here. My host family does make a turkey, and I'll have to share some dishes my family makes during the holiday!