Saint Nicholas visits Amsterdam
vrijdag, 11 november 2011
The children start singing songs, putting their shoes before the door or chimneys, and eat pepernoten. If someone hears this and is not aware of our traditions it sounds very strange, yet interesting.
The Dutch have some particular mannerisms regarding the December month, worth mentioning
to our expat visitor, relocators, or people enjoying a short stay in Amsterdam.
About Saint Nicholas
The story of St Nicolas, or Sinterklaas is one of the most celebrated events in Amsterdam. The event takes place on the eve of the 5th of December. The holy man, or bringer of gifts as children these days see him, is originally the patron saint of sailors and children. The Christian Saint, originally named Nicolaas of Myra, became a saint due to the fact that poor children found bags of gold in their shoes. The bags of gold were thrown through open window of poor families, who might have found their kids to be sold as slaves, if these bags would not have arrived. The bags of gold were thrown through the window and coincidently landed in the shoes of the children. These actions of Nicolaas of Myra ensured that he later became the patron Saint Nicolas, or Sinterklaas as the Dutch put it.
Candy
The traditions of placing the shoes, before a chimney when one is in the building, or at a door still remain used to this day. The bags of gold are unfortunately, for the children and parents, not found anymore; however, they are now replaced by sweets and typical pepernoten. Pepernoten are typical Dutch holiday cookies, which have several spices incorporated in them, a must to try during your short stay in Amsterdam.
The sweets and pepernoten are commonly dispersed by Saint Nicholas’ helpers, black peters. Black peters, or zwarte pieten, thank their skin color to the fact that they traditionally had to climb through chimneys to place the gold, or treats in the shoes of the children. They are Saint Nicolas’ helpers, but the Saint stays on the rooftops with his trusty stallion, Amerigo. Where he has to read his list, to determine who has been naughty or nice, and bring only the children who have been nice gifts, even the ones only staying shortly in Amsterdam.
Entrance
Saint Nicholas, Amerigo, and the Black Peters all depart, once a year, from their home in Spain with their trusted steam vessel to arrive on the 12th of November in Holland. The destination, where they officially set foot on Dutch soil for the first time, changes every year and this year the main celebration will take place in Leeuwarden, a city in the North of Holland.
However, our trusted followers should not be worried, Saint Nicholas and his helpers will also arrive for a short stay in the Amsterdam area on the 12th of November in the city center of Amstelveen, and on the 13th of November in Amsterdam.
To get a proper feel for what to expect you can view the following short clip, showing what the arrival of Saint Nicholas, Amerigo, and the Black Peters looks like.
To find the closest Saint Nicholas arrival to you, follow the below link:
http://www.sinterklaas-informatie.nl/index.php/sinterklaas-intochten
We look forward to greeting you at one of the local celebrations around the arrival of Saint Nicholas and wish you a pleasant stay.
Team Htel Serviced Apartments
