Netherlands and Making Cookies for 'Allerhelljen'

Moin Friends and Family! I am now at my second host family, Family Albers, in Boulaide(Bauschelt in Luxembourgish-pronounced Bow-shet), Luxembourg. Bauschelt is a small community in Northern Luxembourg and has a population of 600 inhabitants. Yesterday,I was invited by my host sister, Carmen, to accompany her to visit her younger sister, Wendy, at Wendy's university in Wageningen, Netherlands. The drive was about 350km, so roughly a 2.5-3 hour drive. When we arrived, Wendy gave us a tour of the city center and we stopped at a local cafe and ate lunch. After looking around the town for awhile we walked to her school. It was a really nice building-8 stories and brand new; she is studying Animal Science. The Netherlands is known for being very flat so many people ride bikes everywhere and bicyclists ALWAYS have the right away. After the school tour we all went to a local super market and bought some groceries and cooked dinner at her flat. It was a very nice evening chatting and sharing stories with one another. Carmen and Wendy were also both IFYE's to Estonia in 2006 so it was nice to compare our adventures.

Carmen and I returned to Bauschelt just in time to make a special dessert, Waffelen, for 'Allerhellijen'(All Saints Day) tomorrow, November 1st. Waffelen's are made from a flour, sugar, butter and eggs mixture and then putting a spoonful on a hot waffle griddle. They look similar to ice cream cones but are a Luxembourg and Alber Family specialty; made only on Allerhelljen, Christmas and Easter. Now here is some history on 'Allerhelljen' (All Saints Day): All Saints' Day is a feast celebrated on November 1 in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honour of all the saints, known and unknown. In terms of Roman Catholic theology, the feast commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven, while the next day, All Souls' Day, commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.In the early Church, Christians would celebrate the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ—known as the saint's "birth day"—by serving an All-Night Vigil, and then celebrating the Eucharist over their tomb or the shrine at their place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to transfer relics, and to celebrate the feast days of specific martyrs in common. Frequently, a number of Christians would suffer martyrdom on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. The Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. This day and the one before and one after it is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted. Tomorrow we will have a big lunch at my host mom's mother's home withher sisters family. Addi