Sinterklaas: The feast of Saint Nicholas

Despite being Dutch myself, I have never lived in Holland, and until recently knew little about Sinterklaas, other than as a child it involved receiving a large chocolate letter ‘V’ (the first letter of my name) from my ‘Oma’, or Dutch grandmother, every year. This is just one of the many traditions surrounding Sinterklaas.

‘Gezellig’ - this is how a Dutch friend described Sinterklaas, roughly translates as the cosiness of being together with friends and family. The word certainly encapsulates the spirit of ‘pakjesavond’ or ‘presents evening’ which will take place tonight throughout the Netherlands and Belgium.

The presents, also known as ‘surprises’ due to the ingenious way in which they are wrapped, come with short, often witty poems supposedly from Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) himself, but which members of family have a lot of fun in creating for one another. My father describes these poems as a method of ‘light-hearted correction’, gently teasing and pointing out the faults of others, so that Sinterklaas is not just a festival of merry-making, but one with a moral purpose too.

I ask another Dutch friend whether he plans to celebrate Sinterklaas at York University:

‘I’m going to have dinner with some friends. We’ll eat loads of pepernoten [a spiced, biscuit-like, chewy sort of candy] and probably paint each other’s faces black.’

The latter has to do with Zwarte Piet or Black Peter, which during the Middle Ages was a name for the Devil. The story goes that Sinterklaas, in his triumph over evil, made Zwarte Piet his slave. Today he has many helpers dressed in vibrant colours and with cheeky grins on their blackened faces.

I ask whether the character of Zwarte Piet has uncomfortable racial connotations but it seems I am taking it all a bit too seriously:

‘Black Peter’s face is black from soot because he has climbed down the chimney. It’s not racist, it’s just a bit of fun.’

These discoveries interested me in making further investigations: Who was the real Saint Nicholas, who today is affectionately called Sinterklaas? What is the story behind all the festivities?

Saint Nicholas lived from 271 A.D. to December 6th, 342 or 343 and was Bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. He was famous for his good deeds which became legends: calming the seas for sailors in peril, putting dowries into the shoes of poor maidens, and saving children from death or exploitation. He is traditionally depicted as a benign, white-bearded figure, in red bishop’s costume and carrying a large gold staff.

Although Saint Nicholas was a devout Christian, and there are many churches dedicated to him in Holland, Sinterklaas is celebrated by the religious and non-religious alike.

Ask a Dutch child about Sinterklaas and they will probably tell you excitedly about the event that is looked forward to all year, when Sinterklaas himself, who lives in Spain, arrives by boat at the docks of towns in the Netherlands and Belgium.

This is broadcast live on national television and flocks of people gather in the streets to greet Saint Nicholas and to sing traditional Sinterklaas songs, while Black Peter throws sweets out to expectant children in the crowd. This arrival marks the beginning of a fun-filled season, especially for children.

For the past few weeks now children throughout the Netherlands and Belgium have been leaving their shoes out by the chimney before bed, in the hope that they will find a surprise there from Sinterklaas the following morning. But beware to the naughty child, who in the place of candy will find only sticks or a bag of salt. In the past an even nastier fate awaited the bad child, as my father remembers:

‘I used to be terrified that Black Peter would come for me and take me away to Spain in his sack!’

However, this practice has been condemned because it is seen to have a negative effect on a child’s psychological development, and is today becoming a thing of the past.

So, does Sinterklaas have a place in the modern world? After all, with Sinterklaas appearing on television in so many different places at the same time, it must be harder to encourage a child’s belief in him. And is Zwarte Piet sending out the correct messages in a society confronted with racial concerns?

Perhaps not, but then again the Dutch person will probably tell you not to take it too seriously. Like all traditions Sinterklaas has its routes in a distant past, when the world was obviously very different from the one it is today.

But besides being a lot of fun, Sinterklaas still has relevance in the modern world. We all have faults which we occasionally need to be reminded of, and Sinterklaas does this in a spirit of fun. We learn to laugh not only at others, but to laugh at ourselves as well.

Whilst in England we are busily looking forward to December 25th, for people in the Netherlands and Holland, something far more important than Christmas happening today.

In learning more about Sinterklaas I discovered the relevance of the word ‘Gezellig’: the comfort of being with friends and family where nobody is afraid to tease and above all to enjoy themselves.

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