sinterklaas

The evening of the 5th of December was the most exciting evening of my childhood. Even more so than Christmas Eve. It is the night of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), the traditional winter holiday figure of Dutch folklore and the historical figure behind Santa Claus. He is celebrated in the Netherlands with parades, feasts and present giving.

All that is known for certain about the existence of Sinterklass, is that he was a bishop of Myra and died on the 6th of December sometime in the fourth century. But there are many legends and stories about Sinterklaas, and how he saved three children and was made a saint for his kindness.

Today the image of Sinterklaas is of a very old bishop, with a long white beard, a mitre, a red gown and a long staff. He arrives by ship to Amsterdam each year from Spain, and rides a grey horse through the city and over the roof tops. He is always accompanied by one or more mischievous helpers called Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), with black faces and wearing colourful historic Moorish dress. Sinterklaas' helper was originally believed to be an African slave who Sinterklaas brought freedom to and in gratitude stayed with him to assist with the present giving. Another considered more politically correct explanation is that Zwarte Piet's face is black from the soot from climbing through chimneys delivering gifts.

In medieval times, the feast of Sinterklaas was an occasion to help the poor, by putting money in their shoes. This gradually evolved into the tradition of putting presents, marzipan and pepernoten (small ginger biscuits) in the shoes of children who have been good, and coal in those that have been naughty.

The evening of the 5th of December is the main gift giving occasion. My Dad or sometimes my Grandad would dress up as Zwarte Pete, in the traditional Moorish dress, paint their face with shoe polish "soot" and play tricks on us. He would hide outside in the dark, tapping on the window and throwing pepernoten down the stairs, only to disappear into the night back to Spain, leaving a sack of presents by the door. The gifts were unwrapped with the family, and poems especially written to go with the gift read out. Traditional songs were sung, sweet treats eaten and hot chocolate drunk late into the evening.

Pepernoten
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbspn water
1 egg yolk
1/4 tspn each of cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered cloves and some anise seeds
a pinch of salt

Knead all ingredients into a soft ball. Butter two baking sheets. Form about ninety marble sized balls. Divide them over the sheets, so that they are placed equal distance from one another. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 180 degree C or until done. They are supposed to be very hard biscuits.