Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas actually lived from 271 to 342. He was born into a very wealthy family, however he tragically lost his parents due to an epidemic and later donated all of his material possessions to the poor to become a priest. Later, he went on to become Archbishop of Myra, now Turkey, and it was during this time that news of his benevolence to sailors, merchants and children spread throughout the lands before settling in the Netherlands during the 12th and 13th centuries where he became the patron saint of Amsterdam. Despite his many a saintly role, today he is mostly remembered for his kindness to children, thus earning him the title of Patron Saint of Children.
According to legend, Sinterklaas lives in Spain throughout most of the year watching over the children of the world to see who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. And yes, Sinterklaas is keeping score and making notes in his little red book. Sound familiar?
As the beginning of November approaches, he and his helper Black Pete pack up all the gifts into one giant sack and together with Sinterklaas’ trusty steed, Amerigo or Schimmel as he is known locally, the trio embarks on a steamship headed for one of the port towns in the Netherlands. Each year, a different port town welcomes the arrival of Sinterklaas and his friends with a country-wide celebration and parade. This year, Sinterklaas arrived in Amsterdam on 15 November marking the official beginning of "Sinterklaas Season."
As the story goes, on the eve of December 5, he flies through the night to deliver his gifts to all of the good boys and girls around the world. With his mighty steed, Amerigo and his little helper, Black Pete, they alight upon the rooftops where Sinterklaas listens at the chimney for sounds of good behavior and then sends Amerigo down the chimney to replace the carrot and straw left in shoes with special gifts.
Today, children leave their shoes by the fireplaces in hopes to receive their gifts from Sinterklaas. Either on the eve or the official day, December 6, everyone finds their packages, some with short poems about the recipient that reveals a little known fact or something humorous and shared with all who are present. It’s all in good fun. Then the day of the feast commences.
Despite the fact that Sinterklaas served many a role throughout the ages, he is thought of less as bishop and more for his generosity and benevolence, as a kind of Godfather whose good will is honored through the traditions of gift giving, feasts and good old fashioned storytelling.
On December 5th Sinterklaas brings the large presents, which are left in large plastic trash-bags (the same ones that will be used to throw away all the broken toys in the coming weeks) on the front porch. Sometimes the parents hire a Sinterklaas from the "Sinterklaascentrale" (an organization providing assistant Sinterklazen) to present the presents. They might even dress up themselves, causing uncomfortable situations when the kids recognize those shoes, wrist watches, rings and glasses mentioned before. "Daddy is a transvestite" is a commonly heard and traumatising remark. The old, wise man utters some very wise words such as "Are there any naughty children here?" and "Have you been a good boy/girl this year?". Upon receiving the respective replies of "noooo!" and "yeees!", Sinterklaas proceeds to explain why that reply is incorrect. Loads of children are traumatised by Sinterklaas every year, especially when they are forced to sit on his lap and sing a Sinterklaas song.
Sinterklaas for grown-ups means a party of giving and receiving gifts, much like on Christmas, but now the presents are called "surprises" (pronounce as "sir-preeze-us"). A surprise is a gift hidden within a product of tinkering, aimed at giving the gift the appearance of something completely different, accompanied by a poem. It serves to embarrass the addressee by reminding him/her of some embarrassing moments in the past year, or to point out a general failure of character in a mocking way. It is the day to get even with anybody for anything, but it is mostly played with family and/or friends. The most cliched surprises are a gift:
1. in a bucket of *&%* [5];
2. wrapped in five thousand kilometres of sticky tape; or
3. which is only an empty box.
A fun tradition, no?
