Oh, also, in Holland and Belgium we have this weird holiday thing called Sinterklaas, which is like christmas, but longer and with more gifts and more delicious snacks
because I know I’ve got followers who have NO IDEA as to who this guy is, I decided to explain it to you, and give you an idea as to why I’ll probably be spamming a bit next Saturday
This is Sinterklaas, aka Saint Nicholas aka that weird guy who’s about as old as Dumbledore because no one knows how old he really is:
He arrives in the Netherlands on the first Saturday after November 11th, which this year is… November 12th. He always arrives in multiple cities and towns at once because he’s awesome (and imaginary) like that, but only 1 gets aired live on TV every year. His arrival is always celebrated with a tour around the city/town he arrives in, and his helpers (the ones we call Zwarte pieten, or Black Peets in your case, or… whatever, I’ll get to that later) throw all kinds of delicious candy into the crowds of children and their parents. Then, at night, kids put one of their shoes in front of the fireplace (or central heating system, or wherever) and the usually put some hay or carrots in them as a gift for the old man’s horse, because they’re kind like that. The kids also have to sing various songs, in order to draw attention. Then, at night, those shoes get filled with gifts and candy and the next morning the kids wake up all happy and excited. A few weeks later, on his birthday (which is December 5th) we all celebrate something called ‘Pakjesavond’ in which he makes one last trip around the country to leave big bags of gifts for the kids, and then he heads home to Spain for the remaining part of the year.
He’s also got a big book in which he keeps a list of which kids have been good and which kids have been naughty, like santa. Rumor has it that naughty kids get a bag of salt in their shoes… But that has never really happened (I think).
These are his helpers, the Zwarte pieten:
Basically, they’ve got a lot of black paint and red lipstick on their faces, black frizzy hair and they wear some VERY weird suits. Also, they’re pretty darn good at gymnastics, seeing as they climb on rooftops every night and go down the chimney to fill the shoes of the kids with gifts and candy. Also like santa. The whole chimney story is used to explain why their faces are so black - because of all the charcoal and stuff in the chimneys. The exact number of Zwarte Pieten is unknown. Many have tried (and failed) to count them all, but there sure as hell are a LOT of them.
While in the Netherlands, they stay at the so-called ‘Zwarte Pieten Huis’, which is basically a big house in the middle of fucking nowhere where no one has ever found them and they can just do whatever they like. They also store all the gifts there.
Because Sinterklaas is a pretty big thing here, we’ve also got something called 'Het Sinterklaasjournaal’:
This is a 10 minute show that starts airing the Wednesday before Sinterklaas arrives, and it basically reports the events on the boat he comes to Holland with (Pakjesboot 12) and the events during his time in the Netherlands. This usually means that everything goes to hell and gets fixed on the very last minute, but it’s pretty hilarious to watch.
Other Sinterklaas customs:
The people who’ve sort of 'outgrown’ Sinterklaas (which basically means they know the guy doesn’t really exist) still celebrate the event called 'Pakjesavond’, but in a different way. Somewhere in the beginning of November, they have a little get together with friends and/or family, during which they draw names out of a hat. This is a bit like Secret Santa, only a bit tougher. Aside from buying the right gift for the person whose name we’ve drawn out of the hat, we also have to write a nice poem to go with the gift, and we have to create a so-called 'surprise’. This means we have to get a lot of tape/paper/cardboard/glue/glitter/whatever and just build something nice to contain the gift in. For example; for a Doctor Who lover you build a mini-TARDIS out of cardboard and paint. Then, on December 5th, they all get together again and exchange those gifts.
Well, that were the Sinterklaas customs in a nutshell. I’ll also create a post in which I will list all of the fabulous Sinterklaas candy which will make you wish your country had food like mine.
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