Hourly manners in Antwerp - a quick primer

In Flemish, keep the following in mind when making appointments:

• 's moregens is 6.00 am to 12.00 midday
• 's middags: 12-18.00
• 's avonds 18.00-midnight
• 's nachts: midnight to six am

Some rules when it comes to keeping appointments in Antwerp - not too shocking rules, as it turns out, for me coming from the Southeast of the USA:

1. Make an appointment (afspraak) before you go see a Belgian. Telephone first.
2. Take a small gift: chocolates, flowers, wine, beer...
3. Arrive on time. 
4. When invited to a birthday, an Antwerpian will let you know by when you need to RSVP. Respect the date and RSVP. 
5. If you cannot attend, respond prior to the RSVP date with a quick note explaining that you will not be attending with an "omdat" - a "because," a reason why. 

What is this blog?

After five years as a spoiled expat employee in Paris, I arrived in Antwerp as an non-EU national.

I am married to an EU national, so my position is less tenuous than when I first came to live in Europe. However, I am still not a European, so I have to follow the rules of any outsider.  This blog chronicles those rules as they relate to me.

A gift from a Chinese diamond trader to the city of Antwerp. The statue features a boy and his dog from the 19th-century publication "A Dog of Flanders." This book found fame in Japan long before the locals started reading it.

Holidays in Antwerp and Belgian Flanders

When are the Belgian holidays? 

Belgium has several public holidays - in addition to what averages out to about a month of paid leave per individual per year. (It's Belgian law!) In Belgium, if a public holiday falls on a weekend, people get the subsequent weekday off. Very nice if you enjoy your leisure time...

So the official Belgian holidays, in Flemish, are:

• Nieuwjaar = New Year = 1 Januari
• Pasen en paasmaandag = Easter and Easter Monday
• Dag van de Arbeid = Labour Day = 1 May
• Onze-lieve heer hemelvaart = Our Lord's Ascension (6th Thursday after Easter)
• Pinksteren en pinkstemaandag = Pentecost and Pentecost Monday (7th Sunday and Monday after Easter)
• Nationale feestdag = National Belgian day = 21 July
• Onze-lieve-vrouw hemelvaart = Our beloved lady's ascension = 15 augustus
• Allerheiligen = All Saint's Day = 1 November
• Wapenstilstand (1918 truce) = end of World War 1 = 11 November
• Sinterklaas - A visit from Saint Nicholas, who leave treats in the shoes of good Belgian children - 6 December
• Kerstmis = Christmas = 25 December

Note that several of these holidays are religious. Belgium hosts an international population with a variety of religions and varying degrees of dedication to these faiths. However, everyone in Belgium loves a holiday, so no amount of laïcité or any subscription to an alternative faith is going to convince a good Belgian to give up a historical, if Catholic, public holiday.

When are the Flemish holidays? 

Each community (gemeenschap) has a holiday as well. Only those in the Community get the day off, which can be confusing if you work in one community and live in another.

Communities in Belgium include

• 26 april = Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Brussels Capital Region
• 11 juli = Vlaamse Gemeenschap / Flemish Community
• 27 september = Franse Gemeenschap / French community
• 15 november = Duitstalige Gemeenschap / German community