few days ago that St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas , which is as it is called here, has arrived in his steamer to the coast of Holland from Spain and Flanders (but actually was a bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey), accompanied by his faithful helper "Zwarte Pieter" or Black and his inseparable Pedrito white horse, and walk around until the day of the party San Nicolas, here in Belgium is 6 December-5 in the Netherlands-day that children receive the coveted gifts , As happens in Spain on the day of Reyes. Sien
however, one difference is that since his arrival on November 17 in most households, children leave each night before bedtime, a carrot for Sinterklaas's horse in his boot or shoe, and sing a song like "Sinterklaas kapoentje", and have been good in the morning find, instead of the carrot, a small chocolate or a cookie (usually pepernootjes or speculaas which are basically cinnamon cookies), and well until 5 December.
is a beautiful old tradition, especially for the kids, whose origins are very well explained in the wikipedia link I left above.
As a curiosity, I see in children's programs on TV, the horse of St. Nicholas in the Netherlands they call it "Amerika" and Belgium "slecht-weer-Vandaag" (= bad-times-today). Personally I like the first but I must admit that the second is perfectly suited to what I see after my window ... almost every day. Anecdotally
say that Belgian children with special look at me curiously when I say that I'm English, which is where St. Nicholas comes to them.
And they are three weeks of the year when my kids wake up early ... more Http://nomesientolaspiernas.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
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