Where is sinterklaas known as a traditional holiday figure

They married the three nice young men and lived happily ever after! Since then Sinterklaas or St. Nicholas as he is also known has become the patron saint of unwed maidens. How this kindly 4th century bishop made his way from Asia Minor through Italy, Spain and all of Northern Europe century is unknown, but by in the 11th century he had become the patron saint not only of children and unwed maidens, but of sailors and the City of Amsterdam as well.

In Amsterdam, on December 5th a ship carrying Sinterklaas arrives by boat from Spain where he spends the rest of the year. He is greeted by a whole group of Grumpuses. A million people come out to see his arrival and watch his triumphant parade through the streets of the city.

The rest of the country watches on TV. Special songs and pastries are made in honor of his arrival. When the early Dutch settlers came to America, they brought with them their venerated old bishop.

Nicholas and their favorite holiday, Sinterklaas. Indeed, the Dutch explorers dedicated their first church on the island of Manhattan, in , to Sinterklaas.

When the British took control of New Amsterdam in , they merged Sinterklaas with their Father Christmas—the merry, roly-poly, Falstaffian figure in high boots. Over the next few generations, Sinterklaas found his way into American literature. In , writer Washington Irving a man who lived not far from Rhinebeck created a jolly Sinterklaas for his popular Knickerbocker Tales. The Father Christmas image stuck, but he acquired a new name—Santa Claus—a direct derivation from Sinterklaas.

Today, in the Hudson Valley, we celebrate Sinterklaas in both traditional and new ways. We move away from the commercial Santa and back to the wonders that began the legend—The Good King, the Noble Soul, the one who brings light out of darkness, befriends children and animals, and inspires our souls.

What is the meaning of the Crowns and Branches that are made by and carried by the Children in the Parade? Since St. Nicholas loved children so much, it makes sense on his name day, that children—who at all other times of the year are the least powerful people in the society—are turned into the most powerful for just one day.

Children are crowned kings and queens! There will be workshops in Rhinebeck in November for children to create their Crowns and Branches. Check the schedule for time and location. Hundreds of beautiful branches will be laid out alongside lots of beautiful, glittery, and fanciful materials—jewels, ribbons, glitter, lace, streamers—with which the children can create their royal garb! At the end of the day each child has a scepter to carry in the Parades and to take home.

These STARS make families, friends, and relations the active myth makers of our community and its future! Hundreds of your neighbors, friends, and family join in an illuminated pageant through the heart of town.

A gathering constellation lights the path for the many children who, bedecked with their crowns and branches, are the honored Kings and Queens of the Day. At the end of the procession, everyone gathers for the final ritual of the pageant. The Master of Ceremonies calls upon all those present to honor our children, our hope for the future, our joy of today. Then you are asked to stand again and raise your star above your heads—thus placing you, the children and the entire community in its proper place in the firmament—all of us as one and at peace under the stars.

And you can bring your star back next year, adding to an ever-expanding universe of stars, helping to nurture a Rhinebeck tradition. The Havdalah Ceremony weaves together of all our community in a web of interdependence, symbolized by intertwined candles.

The Hudson Valley celebrates Sinterklaas with a parade. On whose back the Earth was formed. They join their wild brothers. Sinterklaas comes to the Low Countries on a steamer, called Pakjesboot When arrived he travels on his horse, a Gray called Amerigo or Slechtweervandaag in Flanders , while his helpers walk.

The horse however possesses magical powers, as it is able to walk over rooftops and make great leaps through the air. Both Santa and Sinterklaas make use of helpers. While Santa appears to make all the presents himself, his house is often represented as a toy factory. Sinterklaas on the other hand says he buys the presents in stores, which he can do due to being unimaginably wealthy, and then lets the Pieten wrap them. Santa only deposits gifts between Christmas eve and Christmas morning, though he can be seen in the weeks before Christmas.

Sinterklaas arrives in The Netherlands and Belgium some weeks before the 5th of December; His arrival is always broadcast on national television. During this period, before going to bed, children put their shoes next to the chimney of the coal stove or fireplace, with a carrot or some hay in it "for Sinterklaas's horse", sing a Sinterklaas song, and will find some candy in their shoes the next day, supposedly thrown down the chimney by a Zwarte Piet.

Both Santa Claus and Sinterklaas deliver their presents through the chimney. Santa uses " a little bit of magic " as he himself goes down the chimney, while Sinterklaas waits on top of the roof with his horse, while his Zwarte Pieten go down. Both figures use fixed positions as to where the presents need to be placed. Santa places his around the Christmas tree and fills the stockings hanging above the fireplace. Sinterklaas exclusively places the gifts in front of the fireplace, and, instead of stockings, he fills shoes which the children placed before the fireplace the night before with candy.

Sinterklaas is used more often as a fear tactic by parents in order to get children to behave. Many Sinterklaas songs incorporate one basic element: children who've been good will receive presents and candy, the ones who haven't will receive nothing, will be beaten often with small branches by the Zwarte Pieten, or in the most extreme cases will be taken to Spain.

Santa also cares whether children have been "naughty or nice". Older children and adults also celebrate 5 December. The gifts are wrapped so as to conceal their actual contents and are often accompanied by funny poems filled with puns written specifically for the recipient.

These gifts are the perfect way to mock somebody in front of the whole family. Sinterklaas arrives in Holland on a boat with his Piet helpers every year.

Thousands of children await him excitedly. Starting that evening they may leave a shoe by the hearth before going to bed to find a little gift from 'Sinterklaas' in it next morning!

Sinterklaas' main entrance takes place in a different city every year, but nearly all Dutch cities and villages have their own arrival of Sinterklaas. For the exact date of Sinterklaas's arrival, visit a tourist office. Skip to content Skip to menu Skip to search. Events Sinterklaas Nov. Experience the arrival of Sinterklaas everywhere in the Netherlands. Enjoy Sinterklaas candy, which is available from supermarkets throughout Holland.