Dutch Christmas traditions

Last night I spent some time talking with an acquaintance of mine, Aad, from the Netherlands. I was on my way to buy some decorations for our Christmas tree and that prompted him to point out the way it was - not so much anymore - done in Holland during Christmas time.

I am telling this according to his recollection of how it was actually practiced, historical inaccuracies and ignorance included.

The Dutch celebrate Christmas in two parts, and when you think about it , you wonder why it's not like that everywhere. At least I did.

The first celebration is on December 5th. This is Saint Nick's birthday and it's all his day. This is the day of receiving presents and it's done a bit differently than in North America. On this day, Saint Nick comes to town with a book of all the children's names indicating their behavior for the year. Good ones get the goodies while the bad ones get beaten or taken away with Saint Nick's helper, Black Peter. Now Aad wasn't sure about Black Peter's origin but he stated Saint Nick was believed to come from Spain and hence his helpers were Moors from Spain. Here's a concise explanation of his true origins.

As evening approaches, children gather together in their houses and start to sing carols. They have to balance their ardor with trying to discern the distinct sounds of Saint Nick's arrival. In Holland, there is no sleigh but a white horse that Santa uses to cross the roofs and drop sacks of toys down the chimney. Children leave wooden clogs stuffed with hay and carrots for his horse. If you sing long and loud enough, you might receive a personal visit from Saint Nick himself. If not, Black Peter will leave a bag of gifts in front of the door and disappear after a rap on the door. Here is where it sometimes gets a bit tricky. Parents need to arrange for a neighbor, friend or relative to don the costume and visit their houses and bring the sack of gifts. No problem, yet. There are also...umm... freelance Santas roaming the streets listening for the sounds of carols so that they might visit the house. According to Aad, it is customary to give Santa a shot or two of some local spirits and a little tip when leaving. You can't turn Santa away, so you have to go along. After several visits, it's possible that some of the Santas are bursting with liquid Christmas cheer. Parents' creativity is tasked as they have to explain why Santa keeps returning, looks different and doesn't seem to be able to speak any recognizable language - Of course you don't understand! He's speaking Santa language! They must also guard against the children going outside when there are multiple Santas in the area, lest they witness rival Santa and Black Peter gangs duke it out over their turf. However, parents are usually more than up to the job and judging by Aad's smile and bright eyes, it was a truly wonderful occassion.

The second celebration is for Christmas, the birth of Christ, itself. Trees go up after the 5th, sans presents underneath. There is no rush to buy anything - everything has already been bought. Christmas day is reserved for Christ and the celebration of his birth at church. Time was running out on me, so I did not get as many details about the particulars of this day, but the simple idea of splitting the two struck me. Why not? When the two are together, one or the other, or more probable, both will become diluted.

Time to finish trimming the tree. Merry Christmas!