Sint in Amsterdam

This weekend the Dutch welcomed to town Sinterklaas and his...helpers.

The Christmas tradition in this country is something that both fascinates and baffles me. Not to say that us 'mericans got it "right," or anything like that, I'm sure our traditions would seem equally bizarre to someone hearing of it the first time. And we must remember, that most our traditions have been borrowed/adapted from somewhere...

So, a little on their festivities:

On November 11th the fun began. In the evening children walk along the streets with homemade lanterns singing songs about Sint Maartin. I believe that they also will ring your doorbell, and after singing to you, you give them treats. I completely missed it somehow, but here is a wikipedia link on it.

Shortly after, Sinterklaas begins his journey through the Netherlands going from town to town with his...helpers. We welcomed him to Amsterdam this past Sunday, and he will be here for awhile spreading the holiday cheer with his...helpers. He arrived to Amsterdam via the canals, and then hopped on horseback to parade through the city. The was a big stage with music set up in Dam square, and that is where I went to see him mid-day, but the parade lasted well into the early evening.

On December 5th, Saint Nicholas' eve, is the official day of celebration where there is feasting and presents and such. Click here for a wikipedia write-up on Sinterklaas. It's interesting.

Now, a little something on the helpers. This is where it gets interesting. They're called 'Zwarte Piet' and they're black. OR, more commonly, they're Dutch people that have painted their faces black. Wait...what? That's right. Blackface! Santa with a bunch of blackface helpers! Wow. I had to go see it for myself.

I didn't get a good shot of Sint, but you can see a lovely picture of him with Zwarte Piet here.

You should probably watch this awesome clip of David Sedaris talking about the holiday. It's funny and worth the few minutes.

So, I had to run some errands prior to going to Dam Square and I ran into this at the store. Chocolate letters. A typical Sinterklaas treat.

Also, I failed to mention that the kids also get dressed up for this festive day. Tons of them wear the little puffy hats with a feather in it (like piet wears), some wear the pope-esque cap Sint wears...and quite a few do full-on blackface:

Dam Square. Couple stages, large TV screen.

Zwarte Piet:

My bad shot of Sint:

Most of the Piets are carring large bags full of Kruidnoten (ginger bread-like cookies) and passing/throwing them out to the crowd. I tried to get some, but failed.

The kids get in into it. I think that burlap sack has something to do with being hauled back to Spain if you've been naughty.

So yeeeaaaa.......

On another note—It was a beautiful day in Amsterdam! So, after getting my fill of Piet, I went for a little ride through Vondelpark, and stopped at Museumplien to enjoy some appelbollen in the sun.

And I finally got a food processor! Flagship meal—Butternut squash soup from the Whitewater cookbook. Delicious! I think I need to make a big batch and stock-pile it in the freezer.