Sinterklaas

The modern Christmas tradition in the US involves Santa Claus and has been around for hundreds of years. Every little girl and boy in the US knows about Santa and his elves and where they come from. This year for Christmas I hosted my friend Gilian who is from the Netherlands. While getting my family Christmas tree, Gilian explained to me the traditions in the Netherlands and how it differs from our traditions here in the US.

Saint Nicholas is known as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands and is their form of Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas day is known as the 6th of December and is celebrated with a feast for dinner in which you share the company of family. Different from the US tradition, Sinterklaas will visit children up to four times instead of just once. In the weeks leading up to December 6th, children will leave carrots and water by the door for Sinterklaas' horses that carry him from house to house. The children will receive a present inside of their shoes each of the three times that they do this. The children can do this up to three times leading up to Saint Nicholas day. On the 6th of December, the children will be greeted the door by Sinterklaas himself, and will sing him carols in exchange for their gifts. Along with Sinterklaas are his elves, who are all dirty from delivering the presents down the chimney. On Christmas day, presents are exchanged between family members but Sinterklaas will not make any visits again until next year. One more difference I would like to point out is that Sinterkaas doesn't live at the North Pole, rather he is known to live in Spain, although no one knows where (I prefer the North Pole version myself). 

Although different, there are many similarities in the traditions and both are a way to excite children about Christmas and the birth of Christ. These traditions are not the main point of Christmas, but give kids all around the world something to look forward to during the Christmas season. 


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