In the Netherlands, we love to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas. Mid-November ‘Sinterklaas’ arrives in a port in the Netherlands, whereafter the celebration begins. Chocolate, ‘pepernoten’ and candy are everywhere those days 😇🎉
Already in the 15th century, we have this ‘shoe’ tradition. Poor people would place a shoe in the church on the 5th of December. The shoes would then be filled with items by the rich people overnight. Nowadays, children place their shoe near a door or fireplace. Preferably the kids place carrots or tangerines in the shoe, as present for the horse of ‘Sinterklaas’. After singing a ‘Sinterklaas’ song, the kids go to bed. During the night, the parents switch the ‘ horse presents’ to ‘ kids presents’ (like candy & toys). This is unknown by the children 😉 So it is a real surprise the next morning!
On Sint Nicholas’ Eve, on the 5th of December, we are giving gifts to family and friends. Most of the time by a ‘lottery’ where all names are written down on small papers. Then it’s time to pick a note and discover for whom you’ll buy a gift and write a poem.
During these days, we love to eat candy and sweets! Therefore I made ‘Kruidnoten’ and these traditional Marzipan Animals, which you can find on the link below. HAPPY ‘SINTERKLAAS’! 🙂
