…with bonus New Year’s Eve!
First, let’s wrap up the Netherlands with a Christmas-specific store in Leiden. We saw just a little of Leiden and it’s now on my list of places to see again. (more…)
9 January 2015
6 December 2012
Huet den Houseker der eng Rutt bruet?
Translation: Did the man in black bring you a stick?
Today’s the big day, when Kleeschen (also known as Saint Nick or Sinterklaas) comes to town to leave gifts for all the good children … and when Housécker brings a bit of wrathful justice to the bad ones. If you’re looking for more words, revisit last year’s post about Kleeschen’s arrival in Luxembourg, or read The Wort’s summary of the tradition. This year is all about the holiday ambiance here in the Ville. And the first order of business was to ride the new Ferris wheel at the Christmas Market!
20 March 2012
Queen Beatrix visits Luxembourg!
This is a prompt post on something that happened TODAY!
One of the many parts of my job at A Big Corporation is to get government approvals, which we call apostilles. Today I needed to drop off some documents, so around eleven o’clock I wandered out of my office. I took my routine path to one of many government buildings.
I was a bit surprised at the police presence outside my office, but I didn’t think too much about it. Further on, I found barricades and even more police. That finally triggered my memory: The Queen’s coming today! (more…)
18 January 2012
SOPA/PIPA blackout today
We shy away from politics here at the Bugle Blog, although our editors are quite politically active. Today, we must speak out here, because too many members of the US Congress want to give control of the internet to copyright lawyers and those who stand against free speech.
This boring, little, family-friendly blog has been harassed, repeatedly, under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. Big copyright-holders like Viacom and FOX have issued unilateral takedown notices against our homespun videos. For example, the Bugle is forever considered suspect by YouTube due to our legally legitimate use of a snippet of TV coverage of the 2008 Olympics, simply because the IOC issued an indiscriminate legal action against tens of thousands of ordinary people.
We have also had our content — photos and text — stolen by businesses that made money from our work. (Yes, we have a hard time believing it, too.) Illegitimate use of copyrighted material is a problem for some people who earn their daily bread by creating things that are easily duplicated. Those people make some wonderful things, and we should do what we can to protect their hard work.
But there are two bills in the US Congress (SOPA and PIPA, in the House and Senate respectively) that are, as The Oatmeal puts it, “like dealing with a lion that escaped from the zoo by blasting some kittens with a flamethrower.” These bills take the most abused aspects of the DMCA and enlarge them a thousand-fold. The impact of these bills are astonishingly broad. For more information, we recommend:
- A great summary of the issues from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
- Another summary, in video form, from Fight for the Future.
- A more academic account from Marvin Ammori
- A much less academic take, in animated form, from The Oatmeal.
So today we join the Strike against SOPA. We will resume our usual tripe tomorrow.
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31 December 2011
Wrapping up the holiday season
First, we need to finish the previous post and give you the link to our movie of Kleeschen.
In the US, chocolate eggs were for springtime, specifically Easter. In Europe, eggs are for nearly every holiday, including Christmas. Furthermore, the most super-cool eggs of all, Kinder Surprises, cannot be brought to the United States! We made this video to give Americans an idea of what you’re missing. (more…)
6 December 2011
Léiwe Kleeschen, gudde Kleeschen
Kind Saint Nicolas, Good Saint Nicolas,
brings us all kinds of good things… — Traditional Luxembourgish Carol
Schéi Kleeserchersdag! Happy Saint Nicholas Day! Or, as the partially-Dutch Bakker household says, “Happy Sinterklaas Day!”
Your best source of information on the holiday of December 6th is David Sedaris‘s “Six to Eight Black Men,” especially in audio form.
After listening to that story dozens of times over the past several years, Anita was determined to welcome Saint Nicolas (Kleeschen in Luxembourgish) to Luxembourg. He was scheduled to arrive by train on Sunday the 4th — presumably to allow enough time to find all of the naughty Luxembourgish children and give them their due. (more…)
27 November 2011
Something for the kids
One thing that holds true across the Western world as we know it: Christmas is devoted to the children. And here in Luxembourg, there’s no Thanksgiving to hold up the beginning of the festivities. Shortly after All Saints’ Day (Nov 1st), the holiday decorations went up. All the leaves are down, and the sky is gray — so why not get started?
The first trimmings I noticed were in a Luxembourg shopping mall, just outside the city. The sights began on the way down the escalator from the car park, and the theme was clear from the outset.
(more…)
22 August 2011
Schueberfouer does not mean “Sheep Fair”
So “fouer” pretty clearly means “fair” in Luxembourgish. I was under the impression that “Schueber” was related to the word “sheep” for a while, because the opening ceremonies feature sheep. Please don’t tell my Luxembourgish instructor that I was so far off the mark — sheep is “Schof” in Luxembourgish.
After two years of regular attendance of the fair, I was ready to see the opening ceremony for myself. (more…)
17 August 2011
Assumption Weekend
This Monday was the Feast of Assumption and we used our time to challenge assumptions about Luxembourg…
Nope. Can’t do it.
The Bugle Style Guide expressly forbids earnest and cheesy opening statements like that one. Let’s start over. To the right, a preview of the most exciting part of last weekend. But first…
A three-day-weekend means three mornings of sleeping in. We planned our time accordingly, although we passed up the opportunity to visit the Cat Club.
Friday evening: The Grand Duke’s Palace. We don’t have pictures from this guided tour, because photos aren’t allowed. (Will is still smarting from getting caught by security while taking sneaky-shots in the Ville’s Museum.) (more…)
23 June 2011
National Day!
It’s National Day in Luxembourg! (We posted three times about National Day 2009 — one, two, three — and once in 2010.)
Perhaps this is a good time to note that, for the first time since the 18th Century, the rules of succession for the throne of Luxembourg have changed. (more…)
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