Christmas is a little different here in the Netherlands and Belgium.
On December 5th, Sint Nicholaas visits the children on his birthday.
He comes via boat from Spain, with his trusted helper Zwarte Pete
(black peter) and rides his great steed through the villages.
The children leave their shoes outside the front door to be filled
with chocolate, speculaas(ginger snaps), snoepjas (candies) mandrine
oranges, and the toys they wanted and wrote to him about.
Going back to the old days, de Sint would leave a gold coin in their shoe
along with manderines which he brought from Spain.
In modern day, Christmas eve is for the Kerstman (American Santa Claus)
But now they receive normal gifts of clothing and such, since the Sint
brought the toys earlier in the month. One present is opened before bed.
There are two days of Chrismas. The first Christmas day, is an immediate
family feast day, and as I said above, presents are exchanged, but not as much.
the feast varies from traditional turkey with stuffing and all the side dishes,
but a favorite among nederlanders is 'gourmet' which is an inside grill set up
in the center of the table, small pieces of meats and fish are grilled, and
underneath, are little pans to cook vegetables and omlets. All kinds of sauces accompany the meats and lots of different breads and fruit. Also fondues
of cheese.
The second day of Christmas is for visiting other family members and friends.
Also known as Boxer day in England. Old 'things' are boxed up that aren't used
any longer and taken to the needy.
Beste wensen voor een prettige kerstdagen en een héél gelukkig Nieuw Jaar!
Dutch translation:
Best wishes for Merriest Christmas days and a very happy new year!
Author notes
I hope you enjoy this little peek at Dutch traditions 
In a list
A contest entry
- Christmas by Darc Soul 69.
700 points, ended January 6, 10 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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So pragtig.
It's a shame that traditions change. We have some work to do! Congrats on your win with a fine contribution. Alles van die beste. Frans
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Goede morgan Frans
Hartelijk bedankt voor jouw schitterend commentaar en beste wensen!
Some traditions last for ages, while others sadly drop by the wayside. We have lots of work to do indeed.
de groetje van uit holland naar zuid afrika!
Many blessings, Sandi
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this is very interesting and has made me want to be about to visit a dutch village durning the holidays and celebrate the way they believe just to be there and see what it is like, I would love to be able to learn more about this. I thank you for entering and best of luck to you in the contest
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This is wonderful, it gives such a well rounded sense of all the festivities and is so interesting to read about, for me, especially since I am close by and yet the traditions seem quite varied country to country. We love the Zwart Pete and see him in a card game here as well as in the similar figure of Knecht Rubrecht who accompanies Nikolaus in this part of the Black Forest. We don't have the boxing Day which I like the idea of a lot. I also love that your Santa rides in on a great white steed. The reindeer idea has only just recently invaded this part of Germany. When I moved here ten years ago, the friends I drew pictures for had not even heard of the reindeer and sleigh idea and said Nikolaus sometimes rides a horse. Also, the grilled food idea sounds like Raklette, which we have here on New Years often. Yum - Enjoyed your Dutch addition to the contest!
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