Christmas is our most important holiday, and its literature is correspondingly rich. Yet until now no adequate bundle of Christmas treasures in poetry and prose has found its way onto the Internet for Winter, Christmas, the birth of Christ, Santa Claus, and so much more..Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas brings Dutch children, family and friends together to celebrate with food, gifts, and good company.
December has been one of the most anticipated months for festivities in the Netherlands for centuries. Christmas, when the Dutch specifically celebrate the birth of Christ, the feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nickolaas, is also a time to enjoy good food, gifts, and the company of family and friends.
According to folklore, Sinterklaas was a bishop who wanted to celebrate his own birthday by not receiving gifts, but by giving lots of presents himself to deserving children. So each year he sets sail from Spain [where understandably he likes to spend the rest of the year of the year] to the Lowlands at the end of November. He brings with him his trusty side kicks; his white horse that allows him to climb slippery roofs in the dead of winter to deliver gifts down the chimney, and Zwarte Piet’ or Black Pete, his helper who carries the gifts in a big bag, and takes naughty children back to Spain.
Dates
The festival of Sinterklaas is celebrated is celebrated on the night of December 5th, but even weeks before then children can their shoes filled with sugar cubes or carrots in front of the fireplaces [or central heating systems if there is no fireplace]. During the night Sinterklaas will come by, enticed by the treats for his horse, and leave the children a small gift in exchange.
Origins
It appears that Sinterklaas did actually exist. He lived from 271 A.D. to December 342 or 343. His tomb is in the town of Myra, near the city of Anatolia in present day Turkey. Born of a wealthy family, Nikolaas was brought up as a devout Christian. When his parents died of an epidemic, he gave all that he owned to the poor and went off to become a priest.
Later he became Archbishop of Myra, and it is here that the fame of his good deeds began to spread across the Mediterranean. Desperate sailors called upon him to calm stormy seas, and prison walls came tumbling down when victims of persecution prayed to him. He saved many young children from fates worth than death, and provided young maidens with the dowries they needed to get married.
Over time, St. Nikolaas became the patron saint of just about anything you can think of. Many centuries after his death, the city of Amsterdam adopted St. Nikolaas as its patron saint, and Rome decreed December 6th, the anniversary of his death, should be his official Feast Day.
To most people today, he is best known as a protector and gift-bringer, who loves children in particular.
Big Moment
On the night of December 5th, the time of celebration has come. Family and friends gather around to receive their gifts and to enjoy the special Sinterklaas treats. The gift-giving isn’t the straightforward, however. The presents are given anonymously, [in keeping in the way in which St. Nikolaas himself bestowed gifts] and are accompanied by a poem written about the person receiving the gift. The receiver has to read the poem out loud before opening his or her gift. Many use this moment to tell funny anecdotes, quirks or hobbies of the receiver. This custom greatly adds to the entertainment value of the evening.
Traditional Greetings
Greetings such as ‘Vrolijk Sinterklaas! or Happy Sinterklaas are fine.
Special Touches
Sinterklaas is dressed up in a long red mantle, trimmed with gold thread, a mitre [bishop’s hat] and his golden bishop’s staff. Just like his fellow jolly man, he has a long white beard.
His companion Black Pete’s outfit is flamboyant and colourful, with lots of crushed velvet and even matching tights. Children often like to dress up as Black Pete, with their faces made black with face paint. They carry Pete’s accessories; the bag of gifts and the bundle of twigs to clean and give naughty children a slap on the wrist with.
Menu
Traditional treats such as chocolate initials [or other letters if the shopkeeper has run out of the ones you need], sweet marzipan, and crunchy pepernoten are eaten in great quantities during the festival. Pepernoten are quarter-size pieces of ginger dough baked until they are crunchy.
