Figure 1.--The Dutch used to celebrate St. Nicholas on the eve of the bishop's birthday (December 6), so December 5 has become the big day for the little ones. It is actually a fascinating image as St. Nicholas is obvouzly a Catholic biship yet he became such a venerated figure in a staunchly Protestant country.

St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas is a key part of the Dutch Christmas. He is also the origin of the American Santa Claus. Sinterklaas visits the children with a bag full of presents. The figure of Sinterklaas is a curiously Catholic bishop (complete with a bishops hat and mitre) is this destinctly Calvinist country. It shows just how deeply rooted the Christmas celebration is in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas has no reindeer, but instead a horse. It is not, however, precisely a Christmas tradition as he comes on St. Nicholas Eve, 3 weeks before Christmas. The boy in the picture here puts a shoe filled with hay and a glass filled with water in front of the fire place (figure 1). This is an old tradition in the Netherlands. Hay and water are for the grey (horse) of Sinterklaas (St Nicholas). In the days before Sinterklaasavond (St Nicholas eve) on December 5, the children put there shoes in front of the fire place and sing their St Nicholas songs (sinterklaasliedjes). At the bottom of the photograph a part of one of these songs is printed: Hier zet ik wat water, (Here I put some water,) Daar wat hooi voor 't paard, (Their some hay for the horse,) Want dat trouwe beestje (Because that faithful little horse) Is het heus wel waard! (Deserves that all really!).

Importance

St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas is a key part of the Dutch Christmas. He is also the origin of the American Santa Claus. The Dutch settled what is now New York and New Jersey as New Amsterdam. The British subsequently seized the colony. The impact was to introduce Dutch customs to tge colonies ad eentually tghe United states. One of those wa Sinterklaas who eventually became known as Santa Claus.

Tradition

Sinterklaas visits the children with a bag full of presents. The figure of Sinterklaas is a curiously Catholic bishop (complete with a bishops hat and mitre) is this destinctly Calvinist country. It shows just how deeply rooted the Christmas celebration is in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas has no reindeer, but instead a horse. It is not, however, precisely a Christmas tradition as he comes on St. Nicholas Eve, 3 weeks before Christmas. The boy in the picture on the previous page puts a shoe filled with hay and a glass filled with water in front of the fire place. This is an old tradition in the Netherlands. Hay and water are for the grey (horse) of Sinterklaas (St Nicholas). In the days before Sinterklaasavond (St Nicholas eve) on December 5, the children put there shoes in front of the fire place and sing their St Nicholas songs (sinterklaasliedjes). At the bottom of the photograph a part of one of these songs is printed: Hier zet ik wat water, (Here I put some water,) Daar wat hooi voor 't paard, (Their some hay for the horse,) Want dat trouwe beestje (Because that faithful little horse) Is het heus wel waard! (Deserves that all really!). The children believe that Sinterklaas, his black servant Piet and the horse hear these songs because they are on the roof. When the children are to bed and asleep the parents take the hay and the water away and put some sweets in the shoes. When the children wake up they think that servant Piet has gone down through the chimney and has taken the hay and the water to give to the horse and has put the sweets in the shoes.

Reader Comment

One Dutch reader writes, "Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas in the Netherlands. You are giving your readers the wrong information. It is true that Sinterklaas is very popular in Holland. My point is that Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas. It is a complete separate event." [Colaianni] I don't understand precisely what this reader means. I beieve his point is that Sinterklaasavond comes 3 weeks before Christms Day and is not a religious figure. I supose you could say that Santa Clause in America has nothing to do with the religious holiday of Christmas (Christ's birth). And in the Netherlands Sinterklass arrives well before Christmas day. But for most children in America and we suspect in the Netherlands, Santa and Sinterklaas are very much part of Christmas holiday season.

Another reader writes, "The American Santa Clause is a very portly man while the Dutch Sinterklaas is tall and slender. There are many Sinterklaas liedjes or songs, one of which is sung in the original Miracle on 34th Street."

A Dutch reader tells us, "The French pre-World War I St. Nicolas post card looked exactly like our Dutch St. Nicolaas--usually called Sinterklaas). He has the same big potato sack with gifts for the children. Lacking in the picture is Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), his helper, who not only is supposed to carry the bag, but who also spanks naughty kids with his rod. In the Netherlands December 5 is St. Nicolaas Day. That's when people and especially children receive their presents, not at Christmas. Sinterklaas always was a much more important day than Christmas, especially for the children. The exception was for religious people. But most Dutch are not religious anymore, so Christmas is just 2 days (December 25 and 26) off and the main thing is a delicious meal (goose or duck). There are lots of Sinterklaas songs. He comes from Spain by boat and then continues on his horse jumping on the roof from one house to the next while throwing the presents through the chimney. Later on in the evening he enters the house with Zwarte Piet so that all the children can see him. It is customary that the gifts are accompanied by a poem with a lot of "truths" and teasing. It really is about the most popular folk festival in Holland."

Created: 1:03 AM 1/1/2009
Last updated: 1:03 AM 1/1/2009