Every year, mid November, Sinterklass (No this is NOT Santa!) comes to Holland. He stays for 2 weeks or so and then on the evening of Dec. 5th he leaves sweet treats and presents for the children in their shoes to find on the morning of Dec. 6th. We have seen him and his Zwarte Pieten (these are like Santa's elves only VERY different!) all over our village and around the Netherlands.
It is a significant Dutch holiday, unfortunately even bigger than Christmas, and they are one of the only European countries who REALLY celebrate Sinterklass (they all used to to some extent).
He arrives to the Netherlands by boat (barge) coming from his beautiful home in Spain where he and all his Zwarte Pieten live together. In the Dutch towns that live on the sea or the canals, which there are a lot in these low lands!, he rides his white horse off the barge to all the eagerly waiting children who are singing Sinterklaas songs and cheering wildly. The "Mayor" of the town welcomes him to stay in the village where he and his Pieten will then make surprise appearances at schools and all over town.
The children dress up like the Zwarte Pieten on the day Sint arrives in November and you see them in costume until Dec. 6th.
Here they are! So different from elves!
There is quite a history, a little confused about where they come from and why they are black, about the Pieten. They bring with them Kruidnoten, little spice biscuits, they pass out to all the children. They used to carry a bag where they would put the bad children and beat them with a broom and then possibly carry them back to Spain. (Learned this on Wikipedia!)
Love this one!
Cracked me up when I saw that most of them had very dutch blue eyes!
Travis and Coco had to stay at the back, away from the wild crowds.
Kman and I fought to the very front where he could climb on the fence to see all the action.
He has a love, hate relationship with Sinterklaas and the Pieten, as he does with Santa!
Sinterklaas came to school and he loved the Kruidnoten, or pepernoten as the kids call them, and was so excited to tell me about it but hid behind me when Sint and Piet came out into the lobby to say hi to Coco!
Here is more info on
Sinterklaas if you are interested.
Travis would REALLY like you to see this satirical version, by David Sadaris, on youtube. It is hilarious and true...in a very funny way! Click
here to see the first part of 3 segments. Make sure you watch all 3!