The Basque club in Brussels celebrated on December 12 the fourth edition of its “Olentzero Badator” (Olentzero is coming), a party that welcomed Christmas and the mythic Basque coal maker to the Belgian capital, loaded with toys for the children. Club members took to the streets to sing Christmas carols, warming the cold winter temperatures, and afterwards gathered in the warmth of a dinner where there was more singing, dancing and the sensation that Christmas in Brussels was a little more Basque.
Brussels, Belgium. As every December, the Brussels Basque club took to the streets to welcome the Olentzero by singing Christmas carols, despite that this year, because of problems of security after the attacks in Paris, some of the members had misgivings. “After November 13 the situation has been very different in Brussels where another attack is feared. The atmosphere was strange on the streets. In the morning, when I take the train to work, at the station where normally there would normally be 50 people, there are now 3,” Ana Etxaburu tells EuskalKultura.com. “Some members told us that they wouldn’t be coming out, but finally we were 30 or so and everything went really well.”
Along with the club’s choir, Txalaparta, members sang Basque carols, accompanied by a song book with the lyrics, since many aren’t Basque speakers. After touring the streets, they gathered at the clubhouse where a Christmas dinner was waiting for them so they could refuel. “The menu is a classic every year: garlic soup and chorizo,” Etxaburu said. The gathering created a wonderful atmosphere with dancing, singing and a lot of excitement. This is the club’s final activity of the year, since many members go home for Christmas vacation.
Now, the club is working on its 2016 activities with new proposals like a mus class that will culminate with a tournament in January. Afterwards, some of the larger club projects include a Basque film series in the capital city, to introduce the Belgian people to different aspects of the Basque culture.
[For more pictures visit their Facebook - Bruselako Euskal Etxea]
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