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| Special Family Days Holidays More Photos Maps Emily's Page Leah's Page Jack's Page |
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| Pets A Recipe Mom at Greenspring Sinterklaas The Dutch Language Dutch Castles Delft |
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| Sinterklaas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sinterklaas Kapoentje Nicholas I Beg of You | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sinterklaas Kapoentje Nicholas I beg of you Gooi wat in mijn schoentje, Drop into my little shoe Gooi wat in mijnlaarsj, Something sweet or sweeter, Dank u, Sinterklaasje. Thank you, Saint and Peter. |
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| Long ago in the country of Asia Minor, Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, rode around town on his white horse giving oranges and toys to the children. Since he cared for the sick and helped the poor and the lonely, he was often called Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was interested in other lands, so he was fascinated by a certain traveler's tales of Holland. The traveler told of round, merry faced children with wooden shoes, windmills gracefully turning roofs and cities filled with canals. Nicholas decided he must travel to Holland, so he set out with this servant, Black Piet, on a ship filled with oranges, toys, and sugarplums. The sea was stormy, and the waves were high. As the Bishop knelt and prayed, the seas became calm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On December the fifth Nicholas reached Amsterdam, and the people came to admire his embroidered robes and his white horse. The children gathered around, and if the child had been good, Nicholas would give him a gift. If, on the other hand, the child had been bad, Black Piet would shake a stick at him. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There was dancing, feasting, and singing, and the people realized this visitor was very special. Nicholas wandered through the streets at night filling the children's wooden shoes with gifts and leaving gold for the needy. At one little hut Nicholas could not find a place to leave gold since there were no windows, and the door was locked. Black Piet suggested dropping the gold into the chimney, and by chance it fell into the children's stockings which were hanging to dry. The poor people thought it was a gift from God, but a neighbor told them about Nicholas. The people began to look for Nicholas and Black Piet, but their ship was gone from the harbor. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next year he returned, and every year after he returned bringing gifts to the children of Holland on the night of December the fifth. Upon his death he became Saint Nicholas, and this day is called Sinterklaas (or Saint Nicholas in Dutch) and that is how the character of Santa Claus originated. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and the city of Amsterdam, and he visits all homes in Holland, rich or poor. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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