Surviving the winter activities

Skate away the blues
December to January
You needn’t pray for snow if you’re hoping to ice-skate this year. Icerinks are set up all over the country for the festive season, and for a few euros you can rent skates and have a go yourself. In 2015, Schiedam and Den Haag were the nearest rinks. A temporary ice-rink, DSW Schaatsbaan Delft, used to open for a month at the Beestenmarkt. After 13 years, 2015 was the first year that it didn’t take place due to financing issues. The team are hoping to rectify the situation for winter 2016.

Light up the winter
December
Christmas festivities kick-off on December 13 with Lichtjesavond, a lighting ceremony where the whole town gathers to watch a giant Christmas tree light up. The day is marked by a Christmas market, with small concerts, food stalls all across town, carol singers and lots of Gluhwein on sale. The tree chosen is usually a tall Nordmann that is beautifully decorated, and usually the big tree is lit at 19:00, but keep an eye on Delft.nl closer to the day for more updates. The tradition was started nearly 20 years ago to bring people of the city together and celebrate the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Markets
November end to December end
‘Tis the season of giving, but it usually begins with a long shopping spree. All across Europe, traditional Christmas markets are set-up around this time. The more famous ones include the Cologne Christmas Markets in Germany (November 21 to December 23) which is visited by millions, Amsterdam’s Local Goods Christmas Market, a two-day event at the De Hallen complex and the Dickens Festival in Deventer, Overijssel (December 17-21) a Chritsmas tribute to Charles Dickens. From Scrooge and Oliver Twist to drunkards and carollers, over 950 characters from his books come alive at Bergkwartier as the city becomes 19th Century England for two days. The festival has over 150,000 annual visitors. Free to the public, it is open from 11:00 to 17:00

Christmas Concerts
December
Kerst Concerten in Delft is held at the Old Church, and the concert line-up includes celebrity performers. This year it takes place on December 16, at 18:00 and 20:30. Tickets start at €25. Previous performers include TV presenter and Opera singer Ernst Daniel Smid and his daughter Coosje Smid, who competed in The Voice of Holland.

Sinterklaas comes to town
November
The Dutch precursor to Santa Claus, Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, arrives in the Netherlands from Spain by boat in November. This year he reaches Meppel on November 14 and then travels to other Dutch cities. His boat usually arrives in different cities in a grand parade, with several of his helpers performing acrobatic stunts. He then gets on his magnificent white horse for a foot-parade through the city, throwing sweets and gifts out for excited children. He reaches Delft towards the end of November along the Oostsingel waterfront, his parade will cross Markt, then heads to Beestenmarkt. Sinterklaas itself is celebrated on December 5, and in a tradition similar to Christmas, children leave hay for Sint’s horse by the fireplace and he in turn leaves them gifts.