Sinterklaas, also known as Saint Nicholas, is worshipped by the Dutch littlies. He is the patron saint of children and every year he arrives by boat from Spain to The Netherlands to celebrate his name day here on 6 December. Around 300AD Saint Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra (formally Greece now Turkey, although the Dutch are confused about this and say he comes from Spain). There are stories of him doing good deeds for children and he also has a special relationship with sailors so he arrives in Holland by boat.
A few weeks ago Sinterklass arrived in The Hague by steamship at Scheveningen with his entourage of helpers who are all referred to as Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes). He usually arrives some weeks before his birthday so he can visit schools and shops and monitor the behaviour of youngsters. Sean and I were in London so we missed his arrival, where Sinterklass sat astride his grey or white horse (called Schimmel or Amerigo) and accompanied by his Petes, paraded through our hood strewing pepernoten and kruidnoten (special Dutch spiced cookies) to children.
Thankfully I caught up with the saintly man on The Fred today (and I ate plenty of choc-coated kruidenoten yesterday so I’m OK). He was not hard to miss, wearing a red Bishops hat and cape and carrying a sceptre. Like Santa who copies him, he has a white beard but he’s no blubber belly. Black Pete was with him in his black face paint and curly black wig. I just had to chase the Sint through the street tap him on the shoulder and say hello. He and a Black Pete were delighted to pose for a photo with a fully grown adult Australian when a random stranger offered to take the snap. If you look cloesely at the image you will see he is the real Sinterklass.
As with Santa, children get gifts from Sinterklass if they have been nice. Children place their shoe with a carrot or hay for the aerodynamic horse inside, next to the chimney (or central heating system) on the night of 5 December, ready to wake up to surprises inside on the 6th. Black Pete will squeeze down the chimney to collect the carrots and leave a gift hence the black face. (That’s the modern day explanation for the black painted faces anyway).
If a child has been naughty, the punishment from Sinterklass is fairly scary: a rod is placed in the offending child's shoe and the Black Petes put the scallywag in a sack and take the little rascal back to Spain. Apparently many Black Pete’s wave the rods at children who look mischievous. Sean and I freaked out the other day when we were inside a shop and a Black Pete came running and screeching down the Passage to terrify a little kid into being good.
The Sinterklass season comes with a string of children’s songs, which are broadcast through every store's sound system and are available on CD!
Sinterklaas, kapoentje
Gooi wat in mijn schoentje,
Breng wat in mijn laarsje,
Dank je Sinterklaasje.
Saint Nicholas, my dear one,
Put something in my shoe,
Something in my boot,
Thank you, Saint Nicholas.
So ancient is the Sinterklass tradition, that it’s depicted in art of The Golden Age. Around 1668, the Dutch master Jan Steen, painted The Feast of Saint Nicholas which can now be seen in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Image via WikipediaIn this painting, a little girl who has been nice all year is holding the doll presented by Sinterklass. Her brother has been naughty and has received nothing and he is not happy Jan! All the other figures are reacting to the situation in some way in this complicated but charming scene. Nana is showing the sobbing boy that she has a surprise for him behind the curtain. Another brother is looking up the chimney in amazement at the Sint's visit. I imagine I would have been the golden girl with the doll, as I am always nice.
Children in The Hague seem to be having the time of their lives right now. Apart from Sinterklass, there is a good covering of snow which creates opportunities for snowball fights, snowmen and sledding. Today I sighted numerous fathers dragging their small children on little wooden sleds along the snowy footpath. It is also just about olieballen time which of course is also for adults. Balls of dough, sometimes with raisins and pieces of apple are deepfried in oil, hence their name olieballen or oil balls. Yesterday I wolfed one down after lunch as I was walking along in falling snow. I was covered in white powder from snow and Dutch powdered suiker (sugar). Special oliballen carts are set up on streets and corners and they do a roaring trade. At 85c they are a bargain, maximum calories for minimum bucks.
Olieballen are said to have been first eaten by Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the winter festival Yule (between December 26 and January 6). The Germanic goddess Perchta (Bertha in English) together with evil spirits, would fly through the sky looking for food. Perchta and the evil ones carried a sword and would cut open the bellies of those they encountered for their food. To dodge the evil spirits, the tribes scoffed down balls of deepfried dough (olieballen). Perchta would try to cut open their stomachs but because of the fat in the oliebollen, the sword would slide off the body of whoever ate them. Maybe that’s why I keep slipping in the snow.
Image by Daniele Muscetta via Flickr
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