Vrolijk Kerstfeest! (Merry Christmas)
Christmas celebrations in the Netherlands begin on the last Saturday of November, when Saint Nicholas arrives via steam ship from Spain. Sound odd? Dutch Christmas traditions have melded political ideology, folklore, religion and legend into the holiday symbol of Saint Nicholas.
With its long coastlines and flowing rivers, the Netherlands has long been a country of sailors. The link with the sea is evident through the countries dedication to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.
Sanct Herr Nicholaas (Saint Nicholas)
In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas (nicknamed Sinter Klass) is depicted as a tall, slender man wearing a red bishop’s robe and tall bishop’s hat. He carries a bishop’s miter and rides a white horse. His helper, Black Peter, who is garbed in the Renaissance fashion of puffed velvet breeches, rides alongside Saint Nicholas on a mule, his face covered in soot. Black Peter’s 16th Century clothing is a reminder of the Spanish dominion over the Netherlands, which finally ended in 1570. Black Peter was often depicted with horns and red eyes. Dutch children were told he was the devil, whom Saint Nicholas had captured and made his servant.
Children in the Netherlands believe that Saint Nicholas arrives on December 5th (the eve of his saint day) along with Black Peter. Black Peter would jump from roof to roof, sliding up and down chimneys, leaving gifts in the little wooden shoes left by the hearth. Children would fill their shoes with hay and carrots for Saint Nicholas’s horse and Black Peter’s mule.
The idea of good fortune coming via the chimney goes back to pagan days, when people thought good spirits could travel as swiftly as smoke. It was very similar to the German holiday tradition of Heartha, Goddess of the Home. Mothers reinforced the idea of Saint Nicholas and Black Peter by cleaning out their hearths just before December 6th. They told children that cleaning it out would make it easier for Black Peter to deliver presents.
Christmas in The Netherlands
Saint Nicholas Parties are held on December 6th with children crowding into the harbor in Amsterdam for a glimpse of the ship carrying Saint Nicholas and their gifts.
Christmas Day is reserved for going to church, with a dinner served around seven in the evening. Music is a strong tradition in many Dutch churches, where groups play for the congregation on Christmas Day. December 26th is referred to as “Second Christmas Day,” and is a time for visiting family.
Dutch Christmas Cuisine
Traditional Dutch Christmas foods include boiled chestnuts eaten with butter and salt, marzipan, and Kerstkrans, which are Dutch Christmas cookies. On Christmas Eve, after the kids have been tucked into beds, adults enjoy tea and speculaas (hard cookies). Letterbanket, letter shaped cakes, are also distributed on Christmas Eve. For a main course at Christmas dinner, roast goose may be served, or turkey, or perhaps venison or rabbit. On New Years Eve, a donut-like pastry called an Oliebollen is served.
More Western European Christmas Traditions:
Sources:
Barth, Edna. Holly, Reindeer and Colored Lights: The Story of the Christmas Symbols. New York: Clarion Books, 1971.
Lankford, Mary. Christmas Around the World. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1995.
Wernecke, Herbert. Christmas Customs Around The World. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
