Foreign Eye

No doubt you’ve noticed advertising for Sint virtually everywhere you look these days. So what’s the deal on this Dutch holiday? In short: Sint lives in Spain. Every year around this time he boards his steamboat with his white horse, Schimmel (Mold), and his helper Zwarte Piet, and sails for Holland. Upon his arrival, Dutch kids put their shoes in front of the fireplace. Sint then rides Mold up onto the roof and sends Zwarte Piet down the chimney to fill the kids’ shoes with candy. Zwarte Piet carries a sack, which he uses to take ‘bad’ kids back to Spain with him. On December 5th, the Dutch exchange surprises, which are handmade presents with real present inside. Each surprise present comes with rhyming poem, written by the present giver, in which he or she ‘humorously highlights the surprise receiver’s character defects. Spekulaas and marzipan are Sinterklaas sweets. And pepernoten cookies are what Zwart Piet throws at passersby in the street. So be warned and duck, because taking a pepernoten off the face really hurts!

(Photo/Caption: Pavel Prokopchik, BSc, Russia)

Foreign Eye

It’s that time of year again, December 5th, when the Dutch celebrate their own unique, slightly weird Christmas tradition, starring a guy they call Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), or Sint for short, and his black-faced helper Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). No doubt you’ve noticed advertising for Sint virtually everywhere you look these days. So what’s the deal on this Dutch holiday? In short: Sint lives in Spain. Every year around this time he boards his steamboat with his white horse, Schimmel (Mold), and his helper Zwarte Piet, and sails for Holland. Upon his arrival, Dutch kids put their shoes in front of the fireplace. Sint then rides Mold up onto the roof and sends Zwarte Piet down the chimney to fill the kids’ shoes with candy. Zwarte Piet carries a sack, which he uses to take ‘bad’ kids back to Spain with him. On December 5th, the Dutch exchange surprises, which are handmade presents with real present inside. Each surprise present comes with rhyming poem, written by the present giver, in which he or she ‘humorously highlights the surprise receiver’s character defects. Spekulaas and marzipan are Sinterklaas sweets. And pepernoten cookies are what Zwart Piet throws at passersby in the street. So be warned and duck, because taking a pepernoten off the face really hurts!

(Photo/Caption: Pavel Prokopchik, BSc, Russia)