Consul General Series - 比利時駐港總領事Peter Robberecht
1) Please introduce any special events or culture of Belgium.
請介紹比利時的特色節日文化.
Well, Belgium actually is a very diverse country. For example, we have three official languages: Dutch, French and German. But this also makes us also very rich country in terms of culture.
To illustrate this, there are two festivals I would like to talk about. One is more modern. We have many music festivals, especially in summer. For example, we probably have the biggest electronic dance music festival in the world, in Belgium. It’s called “Tomorrowland”, it brings together people from all over the world, mainly young people. In total there were four hundred thousand people last summer The festival takes place every year of July, by the way lots of people also come from HK. So it's a big festival and very international as Belgium as.
Secondly, on the other hand, we also have traditions that have been going for long time. For example, Carnival is a very big thing in Belgium.
比利時其實是一個多元文化的國家，例如我們有三種法定語言，包括法文、德文及荷蘭文，所以這豐富了我們的國家文化。而我想特別介紹兩個特色節日，第一個較為現代的，就是我們在夏天有很多音樂節。例如，我們有全世界最大的電子舞蹈節日，名叫「明日世界電子音樂節」，並會匯聚全世界的民眾前來參與，尤其是年青人更受歡迎，例如暑假就有多達40萬人參與，並且有很多都是來自香港的，所以這是一個大型並且國際化的節日。與此同時，我們亦有不少歷史悠久的傳統節日，例如有比利時人十分重視的慶典。
2)Any special dates?
是否有特別慶祝的日子?
Yes, it’s mainly in February, sometimes also extending to March. For example, we have the ‘Gilles de Binche’, which has been going on for six hundred years. It's UNESCO heritage and it's a very festive occasion with very special costumes in the French speaking part of Belgium in Binche, in the province of Hainaut. so you have the modern, the traditional, you have all kinds of festivals and culture in Belgium.
大部分主要在2月，有時候更會延長至3月，例如我們有已持續舉行了600年的班什狂歡節，並被聯合國教科文組織列入為非物質文化遺產。這是一個人們會穿著特別服飾的節日，並主要在比利時的法語地區，即是在華隆大區的班什舉行。由此可見，比利時同時擁有現代和傳統的節日文化。
3) So are there any celebrations in HK?
在香港有否慶祝節日？
Actually you don't have to travel to Belgium to see Belgian culture because in the upcoming weeks and months, for example we have the famous Belgian dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui , he will perform in HK in December. Then in March, there is also a very well-known choir from Brugge will participate in HK Art Festival, Anima Eterna. so we have lots of occasions for Belgian artists coming to HK and performing here in HK before HK audiences.
其實你無需要親身走到比利時才能體驗比利時的文化，因為在即將來臨的月份，我們就有著名比利時舞蹈員Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui在香港12月表演，然後到3月份，就會有來 布魯日的著名歌劇團參與香港藝術節，所以我們有很多來自比利時的藝術家來到香港表演。
4) So for us, we have to remember certain dates?
那麼我們需要特別留意什麼日子嗎?
Well, the best time to visit Belgium is probably the summer, because the weather is better and there are a lot of festivals going on.
比利時感受體驗文化的最佳時機應該就是夏天，因為天氣較為溫暖，比冬天更好。
5) Any special culture you like about Chinese and HK .
你喜歡什麼中國或香港文化?
I don't want to pretend to be an expert because I have only been here for 3 months. But one of the things that strike me in HK is the way that it is very international and sort of a melting pot which Belgium also is. So you have the Chinese culture, you have more Western culture and other kinds of culture. It's a big mix of everything and I think that is what makes HK such a fascinating city, a bridge between East and West.
最令我印象難忘的香港文化......首先，我不想扮作專家，因為我只在香港逗留了三個月，最令我深刻的就是香港的國際化，就像比利時一樣，同樣是個大融爐，匯聚了不同文化。在香港你同時可以欣賞到中國文化及來自西方及其他外來文化，所以中西交融，而我認為正是如此，才能讓香港成為一個連接中西方的橋樑，是一個很迷人的城市。
6) Any food you like?
喜歡什麼香港食物?
We have tried everything, the traditional cantonese cuisine, western food and fusion cuisine. It illustrates what I just said about HK, being a very international and mixed city, also in the cuisine you find here.
我已吃了很多美食，例如是傳統的中式料理或Fusion菜，所以從美食中就可反映出 ，香港是一個中西文化交匯的城市。
7) What is the national flower of your own country?
比利時的國花是什麼?
What we could consider to be the national flower is the Red Poppy. You find them everywhere, especially in the summer time, in fields all over Belgium. It actually also refers to history because in the first world war, there was a poem by an English soldier, poet John Macrae called “In Flanders Fields” where he describes the Poppy against the background of the war. So this had become more or less a national flower of Belgium, symbolizing both beauty and sacrifice.
我們的國花是虞美人，你可以在任何地方，尤其是在比利時夏天時期的田野裏面尋找到。虞美人其實是與歷史有關，因為在第一次世界大戰時加拿大軍人、詩人約翰麥克雷作了一首名為《在法蘭德斯戰場》的詩歌作品，在詩中，他描述虞美人是在世界大戰期間的法蘭德斯戰場上盛開，所以這就變成了我們比利時的國花，並同時象徵著美麗和犧牲。
8) So is it very easy to see many beautiful flowers in Belgium? People like to go to garden or plant your own flower in house?
在比利時是否非常容易見到很多美麗的花?人們都很喜歡到家裏的後花園種植自己的盆栽?
Absolutely, every two years in the summer, the main square in Brussel is covered by a flower carpet, which is very impressive and may be an interesting thing to visit for people in HK.
當然，每隔兩年的夏天，在布魯塞爾的廣場上就充滿著美麗的花卉，非常震撼，而且對於遊客來說非常有趣，尤其是來自香港的遊客。
9) Trendy Slang?
俚語介紹?
Since we have 3 official languages in Belgium, with Dutch, French and German, it's difficult to choose because I could choose a word from every language.
So I choose a word from the dialect of my own hometown which is Antwerp, in Dutch. The word is “Bangelijk”: literally it means something to fear, but is actually used to something that is great and fantastic.
因為我們有三種法定語言，包括荷蘭語、法語及德語，所以很難選擇其中，因為三種語言都有自己的俚語。不過我會選擇一個來自我的故鄉安特衛普，一個荷蘭語系地區的俚語名叫 “Bangelijk”，字面上意思是指驚恐，但實際上我們會用此來形容美好或讚嘆的事物。
10) Supplementary greetings
Of course I would like to invite every one of your listeners to come and visit Belgium as I have discovered HK in the past 3 months. It has been an absolute pleasure and I hope that our listeners will also discover Belgium and discover the beauty of my own country.
