Today is the day the Dutch celebrate
Sinterklaas. It's a celebration of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and is a gift-giving holiday. Sinterklaas officially arrives in The Netherlands in early November, coming by boat from Madrid, with his black-faced
Zwart Piet. I've been told the Zwarte Piet are black because they are covered in soot from going up and down the chimneys delivering presents, but no one's been able to tell me why exactly Sinterklaas comes in from Madrid...
Between Sinterklaas' arrival and Dec. 5, it's traditional to give chocolate letters. At our office on Friday, we were each given a chocolate letter representing our first name, but it's also common to receive an "S", for Sinterklaas.
Children leave their shoes out for Sinterklaas, with carrots or hay for his horses, and presents are delivered on the front stoop -- the bell is rung, and when the door is answered, no one's there except presents.
As for exchanging presents, among adults it's common to do a sort of Secret Santa like approach -- you buy a gift for someone, and they don't know who it is from. As part of this, there's the writing and reading of poems. Short, funny, and typically rhyming, they're read to the person for whom they're about. Again, not sure how this fits into the whole celebration, but it's a continuing practice.
In fact, I have to create a poem for a Sinterklaas party tomorrow. A coworker invited me to her place to celebrate with a small group of her girlfriends, most of whom are also expats. She assigned people their Secret Santas, and is including the poem part. Need to get cracking on that!
December 25th here, from what I've been told, is more about gathering family together for a meal, and is less focused on exchanging presents than it is in the States. Christmas trees are scarce -- and expensive. But there are tiny white lights draped between the buildings on all of the shopping streets in the area, which gives off a magical feeling after the sun goes down.
And I can't not write about oliebollen! This is a tradition I wouldn't mind having back home. Think balls of fried dough, crisp on the outside, mushy and thick on the inside, slathered with powdered sugar that melts upon contact. They're only available at this time of year, and are sold out of fair carts on the corners of the streets.
I had one a couple weekends ago and fell head over heels for it. I grabbed a bag of them on my way home from shopping this afternoon (yes, I said a bag of them!), and am looking forward to devouring them over the weekend.
Obviously, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here, and I did have to work that day. As holidays go, that was ok by me, as I've never been overly enthusiastic about Thanksgiving. I did join my boss and his family at his house for a turkey dinner that following Saturday, though. Did you know there's no turkey industry in The Netherlands? This bird had to be shipped in from Germany from some free-range, organic farm, and for a 10-pounder -- 60 euros. That's about $90!
What these experiences have made me think about is which elements of holidays are really important to me. Food is one. :) But I also really enjoy the process of finding the perfect gift for someone, and spending time with people who are important to me. It was harder to be home alone Thanksgiving evening than I first thought it would be, when every one I care about was with family and friends.
I'm really looking forward to being home for Christmas.
Across the canal from my apartment, this sinking dinghy is tied up. It has been since I moved in. Nothing's changed about it; it stays in relatively the same location, with the same proportionate amount of it above and below the water, even that wooden chest has been there the whole time.
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