HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS OF BRUSSEL
Holidays: New Year’s Day (Jan. 1); Easter (Apr. 11); Easter Monday (Apr. 12); Labor Day (May 1); Ascension Day (May 20); Whit Sunday and Monday (May 30-31); Indepen dence Day (July 21); Assumption Day (Aug. 15); All Saints Day (Nov. 1); Armistice Day (Nov. 11); Christmas (Dec. 25).
Festivals: Ghent hosts the Gentse Feesten, also know as 10 Days Off (July 17-26). Wal lonie hosts a slew of quirky and creative carnivals, including the Festival of Fairground Arts (late May), Les Jeux Nautlques (early Aug.), the International French-ianguage Film Festival (early Sept.), and the International Bathtub Regatta (mid-Aug.).
Beyond the international traffic resulting from the city’s association with NATO and the EU, Brussels (pop. 1,200,000) has a relaxed and witty local character best embodied in its two boy heroes, Tintin and the Mannekin Pis. In the late 1920s, car toonist Herge created a comic strip hero, Tintin, who, followed by his faithful white dog Snowy, righted international wrongs long before Brussels became the capital of the EU. The cherubic Mannekin Pis perpetually pees three blocks from the Grand Place, ruining any semblance of formality created by international poli tics. The museums of Brussels are rich with collections of Flemish masters, mod em art, and antique sculptures, but you don’t need to go inside for a visual feast many of the city’s restaurants, lounges, and movie theaters were built in the style of Ait Nouveau architect Victor Horta.
