Event - CIAO Tongeren
If you have any knowledge of European languages you'll recognize "Ciao" as an Italian word and if you don't then you know it now.
The Belgian province of Limburg has a huge Italian community.
Around 1910 almost 4500 Italians lived and worked in Belgium. A number that rose to 33000 around 1931, before the second world war. After that war Belgium had a huge problem finding miners so in 1946 a treaty was signed between Italy and Belgium to exchange Italian miners for Belgian coal.
Between 1948 and 1955 over a 100.000 workers and their families moved from the warm Mediterranean to the much colder Belgium. It must be said they often had less than desirable living and working conditions. Many even had to stay in the old camps for war prisoners that were dire reminders of WWII. One of the moments in recent time Belgium should be ashamed of.
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This mass exodus towards Belgium ended in 1956 after a disaster happened in the Marcinelle coal mine, killing 262 miners, of which 136 Italians.
Still till the late 1970ties every year Italian families moved to Belgium. At it's peak in 1981 almost 280.000 Italians lived and worked in Belgium. Many of them returned home after the closure of the last Belgian mines in 1992 or their retirement. Others received the Belgian nationality and in 2015 the number of Italian nationals residing in Belgium had dropped to 157.000. And 120.000 Italian born people had taken the Belgian nationality.
Those numbers make the Italian community even today the 2nd largest foreign community in Belgium (after the Moroccan community).
During events like Ciao Tongeren the city colours itself in red, white & green and Italian food, drinks, music and atmosphere reign the streets. If you enjoy good food, If you enjoy loads of alcohol. And you enjoy friendly (yet loud) people this is a day to look forward to.
The photos are on Flickr & the wine, Sambucca and pizza are in my belly.
And if you want to see authentic some Italian folkdancing you'd better watch the video in this article: https://tinyurl.com/OParade2023
Next in Tongeren are the Kroningsfeesten.. a week of celebration every 7 years.
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Namaste
