Hij Komt Sinterklaas

We are in Amsterdam this weekend visiting my sister and her husband. Today we saw the arrival of Sinterklaas and his friends, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), from Spain on a steamship. Zwarte Piet is quite controversial as he is played by tall Dutchmen of all ages in blackface. The Dutch stand by their claim that the black makeup is just soot from going down chimneys. I still struggle explaining this so I will let the video do the rest. 

Here is a photo of some little girls dressed up for the arrival of Sinterklaas.

In the Netherlands, Christmas is completely separate from Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas arrives in mid-November and stays until December 5th. He and Zwarte Piet give out candy and presents to good children or beat naughty children with tiny sticks. Certain candy is only sold during Sinterklaas and you can't get any after December 5th (kind of like Halloween candy or Girl Scout cookies).

Below are photos of some Zwarte Piets during the parade. 

Warren received kruidnoten (ginger cookies) from Zwarte Piet during the parade. 

One gift that Sinterklaas might give to you is a chocolate letter for your name. We couldn't find a W for Warren so we went with an S for Smith. But we did find plenty for Jackie.

 

Another gift you might receive is a pig made out of marzipan (smaller ones are available so it will fit in the wooden shoe you left out for Sinterklaas to fill).