We're two sisters who are craft book publishers and found ourselves in the midst of an avocado grove. We bought this house where we planned to conduct our publishing business and in the deal got 4 acres of avocado trees thrown in. Now we're not only publishers but ranchers as well! This blog is all about avocados and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Sepia Saturday #157 Santa, the Dutch Version





Here he comes, the Dutch version of Santa, called Sinterklaas and his helpers The Zwarte Pieten.  (Peter, I hope you don't get mad that I'm divulging the story of your Santa.) But I think it's so interesting. I first heard this story in a book by David Sedaris and I've included a recording of this at the end of this post for those of you who might be interested. But I'll have to warn you that it's really long - about 20 minutes.

Legend has it that Sinterklaas originally came from Turkey as St. Nicolaus, the Bishop of Mira, an honorable man who was kind to children. He lives in Spain, but comes by boat in mid-November and is welcomed by 400,000 spectators along the canals.

He then trades his boat for a white horse and the parade continues. He's accompanied by his band of helpers, the Zwarte Pieten.

Children lay out their shoes before bedtime, along with water (or wine) and a carrot for the horse. The very good kids are usually rewarded with chocolate and marzipan while the naughty anxiously wait to see if they've been given coal, again. In the past, Sinterklaas hit the children with a branch if they had been bad. But I guess this tradition has been thankfully updated.

 I hope you have time to listen to this. It's pretty funny.




And if you have time after this, check out other Christmas and Santa stories here: Sepia Saturday. Happy Holidays everyone.
Posted by at

12 comments:

  1. Life Goes OnDecember 20, 2012 at 5:35 PM

    love the pictures and the stories. thanks
    Grace

    ReplyDelete
  2. ScotSueDecember 21, 2012 at 6:49 AM

    I learn something new all the time! Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PeterDecember 21, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    Nancy, I couldn't tell it any better. I love Sinterklaas not in the least because my shoe size is 11...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bob ScotneyDecember 22, 2012 at 5:12 AM

    Interesting to hear of traditions in other lands not just the Netherlands.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PostcardyDecember 22, 2012 at 5:54 AM

    Very funny video, also informative!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 22, 2012 at 7:10 AM

    David Sedaris is about the funniest man on the planet -- thanks so much for this hilarious post!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WendyDecember 22, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    I always enjoy learning about other countries' versions of Santa Claus.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mike BrubakerDecember 24, 2012 at 7:46 AM

    Sinterklaas and Gandalf the Grey/White have striking similarities. The way Christmas traditions get mixed up, re-used, modified by different cultures is fascinating. Best wishes for your holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and JoyDecember 24, 2012 at 8:37 AM

    It would really be a bummer to get the gift of coal!

    Kathy M.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownDecember 25, 2012 at 12:11 PM

    I will come back and lilsten after today....Merry Christmas and this is very interesting...shows what I do not know. Had heard of Sinterk but thought he was German. Lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. tonyDecember 25, 2012 at 12:21 PM

    I Hope You Are Having A Fine Christmas! Regards,tony X

    ReplyDelete
  12. ElizabethJanuary 4, 2013 at 4:36 PM

    Sending all best wishes for a wonderful 2013
    from Elizabeth and Buster!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)