Dag, Sinterklaasje.. dag, Zwarte Piet!

Dec 5th, the birthday of St. Nicholas, is one of the most anticipated days here in Holland, especially for children. This is the day they get presents, along with all the novelties of the year that come with the Sinterklaas tradition: chocolate letters, pepernot, speculaas, finding your shoes filled with snoep (sweet treats) every morning you wake up, greeting Sinterklaas and his Piets when they just get off the boat (from Spain), greeting Sinterklaas who parades on his white horse..

This year Dec 5th is on Monday. People go to work as usual, but supermarkets are closed early (at 18:00 instead of the usual 22:00) and schools are arranging special programs. Today, De Community School (where Dhanu goes) arranged a Sinterklaas meeting at Hemonyplein (a square nearby the school) at 08:30. Unfortunately, rain poured down heavily around that hour, the appointed square was empty, so parents and children arrived at the school building, looking a bit anxious.
I stayed with Dhanu, when the teachers were trying to improvise the program. They should have had a B-plan, considering the uncertain weather nowadays. I took Dhanu upstairs (to his classroom) so he could hang his jacket and put his backpack. Nobody was allowed into the classroom, but some peeked to see a stack of big presents in the middle of the classroom!

These youngest kids of the school (class 1 to 4) were then gathered in the sport hall, all sitting on blue mattresses. Older students (class 5 to 8) waited in their classrooms. Some of them were wearing the costume of Zwarte Piet (a cap and a cape), some Sinterklaas' cape and high hat. Parents and teachers stood around the walls and at the back of the hall.
The principal of the school, helped by a teacher (Dhanu's class teacher, Meester Joeri), led the children to sing Sinterklaas songs, while the Sinterklaas himself entered the room, accompanied by two Zwarte Piets. The kids were excited and could hardly sit still. Sinterklaas brought a bad news, that his bags full of presents (for the kids) were stolen! They have to find the bags, quickly!

The kids were then divided into two: class 1-2 to the theater hall, while class 3-4 stayed at the sport hall. I went along Dhanu's classmates to the other hall. Between the two halls, stands a counter (a reception desk and a kitchenette to serve tea/coffee/cup soup). Some bigger kids were hanging around the counter, pointing and shouting, "We have found the thieves! They're here!".

In the theather hall, the kids were seated on low wooden benches, parents on plastic seats. More singing, Sinterklaas and his two Piets entered the room, then the "thieves" story continued. The kids were so excited they couldn't sit on the bench, they stood and danced, their faces full of anticipation and eagerness. They were sweet, though, obediently raising their hand when about to say something, eventhough some shoutings were heard now and then.
Soon, the 'thieves' were caught (two men dressed in Dalton Brothers' kind of stripey prison uniform). Presents were revealed from 'behind the blue doors' (the storage room of the theater hall). Then Sinterklaas started to call some of the kids to sit on his lap - not all, because he's old and tired, he said. He was given a book of 'report' of these children. Sweet, these kids: they came forward and sat on Sinterklaas' lap and sang when asked to sing, answering all the questions. Getting off his lap, the kids received a handful of pepernoten from Zwarte Piet, to be eaten together with friends.

At about 10:00. Sinterklas left, while the children sang the "Dag Sinterklaas" song for him. They danced, jumped and sang happily, then were led to their classrooms. We parents were still following them into the classroom, where the seats were arranged to form a big circle. In the middle of the circle, was a pile of presents, boxes of the same size.
Meester Joeri explained that Sinterklaas has left these presents for them, and each kid may pick one present for him/herself. Once everyone got their present, they unwrapped them at the same time. Everybody got the same thing: a catapult game with plastic tree and monkeys. We left not long afterwards, then came back to pick up the kids at 12:00 already.

Tonight, we still have to make a surprise for Dhanu and Lindri. We had to make it as if Sinterklaas himself came and left a bunch of presents for us. The presents are now hidden in the laundry room, and I've cooked up a plan with Syb of how to go about it. Allright, time to move on.. dinner, and then the 'theater'.. hee hee. See you!

(One of the children's songs for Sinterklaas:)

"Zie ginds komt de stoomboot
uit Spanje weer aan.
Hij brengt on Sint-Nicolaas,
ik zie hem al staan.
Hoe huppelt zijn paardje
het dek op en neer,
hoe waaien de wimpels
al heen en al weer."


Image: from St. Nicholas Center