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’! 🙂
