Sinterklaas

And as you can see from these Dutch bloopers, not everything goes smoothly when Sinterklaas and Swarte Piet arrive from Spain to distribute treats to Dutch children.Well, DAYUM, they've taken this video off YouTube. Ah, well. Must have been lifted.Happy St. Nick Day!

I went to Amsterdam to see Sinterklaas arrival on 18th Nov 2007. Op 18de November ben Ik naar Amsterdam geweest om de Intocht te zien. This is one of the Welcome song of Sintaklaas. There were too many people in Amsterdam. Er waren te veel mensen in Amsterdam. Zwarte Piet, happy helpers of Sinterklaas Police men also acts Piet bisides their security works. We waited for Sinterklaas to take his picture. Wij wachtten op Sinterklaas om zijn foto te nemen. He came Hij kwam We tried to take his picture, butWij probeerden om zijn foto te maken, maar Sinterklaas was so quick !Hij was zo Snel ! So if we want to take good picture of Sinterklaas, we must to run to his next point. Zo als wij goede foto van Sinterklaas willen maken, moeten wij naar zijn volgende punt lopen. Next point. His horse disturbed my business. Volgende punt. Zijn paard stoorde mijn foto maken. And they went away quickly En zij gingen snel weg I could make this photo after

Imagine that you have been living in Holland for half a year. You are still unfamiliar with most of the countries customs and quarks. You are walking down the local high street one chilly but pleasant afternoon in late November. It is an ordinary day like any other. Suddenly you hear some kind of commotion up ahead. Imagine your surprise when you suddenly see coming into view a parade of men and women dressed in what looks like Renaissance jester out fits. You would find it a little strange wouldn't you. However, my description does not end their. Visualize that they are all white but have covered their faces in black shoe polish, painted their lips bright red and donned large fake afros upon their heads. If you do not find that extremely strange then you might be perplexed by the group of children cheering and singing as they pass. If you can imagine this scene then you might understand my introduction to the Dutch custom of Sinterklaas. This is exactly how I experienced it f

Speculaas RecipeButtery Almond CookiesFrom Maison Dore Trifles"Like marzipan, speculaas (or speculaasjes as the individual cookies are called) is a cookie highly connected with the feast of Sinterklaas in Holland. The name speculaas has to do with the wooden molds the cookies are made in (we call it a speculaasplank, speculaas comes from the word speculum (mirror). One of the more famous shapes is a windmill of course!" For the recipe, click here.Note: Conversions for the European measuring system are explained in the comment section of Maison Dore Trifles.

I'm counting the days!Sinterklaas and Swarte Piet are arriving in the Netherlands from Spain on December 5th. Visions of taai taai, speculaas, marzipan, and chocolate letters are already dancing in my little Dutch head.The question is, of course, have I been a good girl and will I be judged as such? Only time will tell. The eve before December 5th I shall fill my wooden shoe with straw and a lump of sugar, and place it with a bowl of water by the fireplace for Sinterklaas' white steed. If I've been bad, Swarte Piet will leave me a lump of coal or a switch the following morning.But if I've been good, well, these are the sweets that await me. My mouth is watering already, because as we all know naughty doesn't necessarily exclude nice.Marzipan Speculaas (Buttery spice almond cookies)Chocolate LetterTaai Taai (Tough Tough- chewy and spicy) & Peper Noten (ginger snaps)

Newsflash! In honor of December 5th and after a week's rest with nothing to do but quibble, we find our remaining chefs restless and rearing to return to the competition. "Why not throw a Sinterklaas and Swarte Piet party for poor Dutch orphans?" said Mikey, he of the boundless cheerful nature. "I'll bring the Heineken and make some cheese balls. My cheese tray kept me from being booted at Thanksgiving, so I must know cheese!""Enough with your cheese balls already," said Betty, getting crabbier by the minute. First Marcel ticked her off. And now it was Mikey. And where the hell were they going to find poor Dutch orphans in California? Under a knuckle head tree?"Hey not fair," said Elia, puckering her ample but well-shaped brows. "I don't know a theeeng about this Sinterklaas you speeek of.""But you know chocolate," Marcel said in an unctious tone. "You melted it so beautifully before smearing it all over your pretty face. Why not make a chocolate letter for each of the judges?""L

This blogger on the lap of Sinterklaas almost 30 years ago. Black Pete on the right. Of old the celebration of the name-day of Sinterklaas, patron saint of children, on Sinterklaasavond ("St. Nicholas' Eve') has been a moment of domesticity in the Netherlands. Yesterday night Dutch public television news show NOS Journaal revealed a more dark side which recently accompanies Sinterklaasavond. It reported that the countless "Sinterklazen' (plural of "Sinterklaas') who go out to visit the Dutch are harassed and bullied by teenagers. Apparently teenagers with a foreign background as Sinterklaas nowadays more and more recrutes, for example, Zwarte Pieten ("Black Petes'), his traditional assistants, of Moroccan origin to counter the bullying. I assume they harass the "benevolent saint' because he's such an important symbol in Dutch tradition.

This blogger on the lap of Sinterklaas almost 30 years ago, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) on the right Of old the celebration of the name-day of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), patron saint of children, on Sinterklaasavond (Saint Nicholas' eve) is a traditional, domesticated event in the Netherlands, celebrated with friends and family. This morning Dutch public television news show NOS Journaal revealed a more dark side which accompanies Sinterklaasavond since recently. The Sinterklazen (plural of "Sinterklaas') and their Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes), their traditional assistants, who go out on the streets to visit the people on Sinterklaasavond are being harassed and bullied, apparently by teenagers with an immigrant background as the Sinterklazen have started to recrute Zwarte Pieten of Moroccan, Turkish and Surinamese origin to counter the bullying. I assume some animosity fueled by 9/11 and other, related issues prompts the muslim teens to harass the "benevolent saint' and his