Who the hell is Sinterklaas (I know the page is in Dutch) you say? Well, its none other than Saint Nicholas aka Santa! Being of dutch heritage (as I now find out) I get to open presents on the eve of the feast of Sinterklaas which is December 5th… Today!! Apparently christians and non-christians (I guess that would be me. I’m such a heathen) all celebrate in the Netherlands.
This morning Sinterklaas came in the form of a box of goodies from birthmom Dianne! Wee!
The text on the box, I think, roughly translates to Merry Christmas. And it is December 5th so I opened the box. You’ll see what I found inside after the jump.
Goodies!! Cookies, biscuits, candies, two oranges, lots of chocolate and more.
All of our treats look great against Carol’s advent calendar. Note the chocolate letters C and M. Another Dutch tradition at Christmas time.
Look! Its a chocolate Sinterklass and Zwarte Pieter (aka Black Peter). The chocolate Sinterklaas was smooshed in the trip so after this photo op I ate him. I don’t know about the blackface business with Zwarte Piet. Not everyone appreciates him. I can understand why.
True to form, Dianne sent a little something sentimental. This belonged to my Dutch grandmother or Oma.
Although my birth family’s past hasn’t been all sunshine and roses (the holocaust for example) its so nice to finally have a cultural history that I can truly own. I love Sinterklaas! Maybe that’s why I always wanted to open Christmas presents early…
Thanks Dianne!
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