Reply to Sinterklaas
If you don't have an account, just leave the password field blank.
Just wondering: who still celebrates Sinterklaas? And perhaps still believes in him? 
For those who don't know who Sinterklaas is: It's an old legend, and a festival. Once there lived a very rich man in Spain who rescued three children who were butchered by a butcher and cut into little pieces. Sinterklaas put the pieces back together and the children were alive again.
It's a party on december 5th. Little children believe he's real and put their shoe in the month of november in front of the fireplace. They put a bit of hay and a carrot in the shoe and during the night Zwarte Piet (Black Pete; the aid of Sinterklaas) climbs down the chimney and replaces the hay and carrot with a present. The hay and carrot are for Sinterklaas's horse, which is white and can ride on the roofs.
And on december 5th you get presents that come with a poem and the presents are 'disguised' into something else. So if you love fishing, you'll get a huge fish made out of paper or something like that and somewhere inside the fish is the actual present. And the poems have to be read out loud.
And you have to sing all kind of songs, also in front of the fireplace. And then you hear a loud knock on the door, and you see a hand that throws hands full of sweets into the chamber, and when the door is opened, a big sack can be seen and the sack is filled with presents. And Zwarte Piet, who has put the sack there, is gone...
If you don't believe anymore in Sinterklaas, you can still give and get presents/surprises and poems, or you can just eat a lot of 'speculaas', 'marsepein' and other sweets. And when you don't believe in Sinterklaas anymore, you'll know that the big sack of presents was put there by the neighbour, and not by Zwarte Piet.
Childeren also make wishlists and when they don't get want they want, they blame Sinterklaas - which is very convinient for their parents!
And if children have been bad, they risk to be taken by Zwarte Piet in a big sack, back to Spain.
No one ever explains what you should do in Spain, though... I think it's kinda nice to be taken to Spain in winter (nice weather and such), but no child ever wants to go.
BTW: Sinterklaas was actually a bishop who lived in southwest Turkey in the 4th century in the town Myra. I visited Myra some time ago and there is actually a church: the Sint Nicolaas church. There not much of left of it, though. Sint Nicolaas is the 'other' name of Sinterklaas. After his death he became a patron saint of children, sailors, single women and merchants, since he helped all those when he was still alive.
For those who don't know who Sinterklaas is: It's an old legend, and a festival. Once there lived a very rich man in Spain who rescued three children who were butchered by a butcher and cut into little pieces. Sinterklaas put the pieces back together and the children were alive again.
It's a party on december 5th. Little children believe he's real and put their shoe in the month of november in front of the fireplace. They put a bit of hay and a carrot in the shoe and during the night Zwarte Piet (Black Pete; the aid of Sinterklaas) climbs down the chimney and replaces the hay and carrot with a present. The hay and carrot are for Sinterklaas's horse, which is white and can ride on the roofs.
And on december 5th you get presents that come with a poem and the presents are 'disguised' into something else. So if you love fishing, you'll get a huge fish made out of paper or something like that and somewhere inside the fish is the actual present. And the poems have to be read out loud.
And you have to sing all kind of songs, also in front of the fireplace. And then you hear a loud knock on the door, and you see a hand that throws hands full of sweets into the chamber, and when the door is opened, a big sack can be seen and the sack is filled with presents. And Zwarte Piet, who has put the sack there, is gone...
If you don't believe anymore in Sinterklaas, you can still give and get presents/surprises and poems, or you can just eat a lot of 'speculaas', 'marsepein' and other sweets. And when you don't believe in Sinterklaas anymore, you'll know that the big sack of presents was put there by the neighbour, and not by Zwarte Piet.
Childeren also make wishlists and when they don't get want they want, they blame Sinterklaas - which is very convinient for their parents!
And if children have been bad, they risk to be taken by Zwarte Piet in a big sack, back to Spain.
No one ever explains what you should do in Spain, though... I think it's kinda nice to be taken to Spain in winter (nice weather and such), but no child ever wants to go.
BTW: Sinterklaas was actually a bishop who lived in southwest Turkey in the 4th century in the town Myra. I visited Myra some time ago and there is actually a church: the Sint Nicolaas church. There not much of left of it, though. Sint Nicolaas is the 'other' name of Sinterklaas. After his death he became a patron saint of children, sailors, single women and merchants, since he helped all those when he was still alive.
