Christmas on the Farm - in photos

Our First Christmas Abroad

 

A funny thing happens when living abroad for the first time, especially when you come from a relatively geographically isolated nation (like the United States) to Europe : you are faced with the absurdly beautiful quandary of whether you will live your days in this new country trying to travel and take in all the sights and sounds you can, or whether to invest your time experiencing the customs and culture of the location in which you live.  Obviously, the results of such a decision fall somewhere on a scale from constant travel to all-out homebody, but for our little family the balance has fallen more or less somewhere in the second category.  We really like the Dutch and what we've tasted so far of their culture, and that is a big part of why we chose to spend our first Christmas in Europe in our own little village, on the farm.

The Customs:

Sinterklaas:
If you've ever taken for granted the celebration of Santa Claus with the birth of Christ (the origin of our Christmas tradition, if you've forgotten) then perhaps a little history on the celebration of Saint Nicholas (or Sinterklaas, as he's lovingly known in the Netherlands) will help to fill in some of the gaps.


The celebration of Sinterklaas's birthday begins sometime on a Saturday in mid-November, when Sint is believed to make a journey on a steamship from Spain (where the original Saint was believed to have lived.)  With the help of a televised "news story" about his journey, children across the country watch as he and his helpers, the controversial* Piets, arrive in port in Holland with his white horse, Amerigo, whom he rides throughout the country making stops to visit schools and public appearances.  Before bed each night between his arrival in Holland and December 5th, children leave their wooden shoes by the fire for Sint or his Piets to fill will treats such as chocolate, speculaas or pepernoten (pa-per-note-a.)


The exact coarse of events on December 5th vary from house to house just as the method of Santa's deliveries do in the States, but commonly enough a knock will occur at the door sometime in the evening, and excited children will run to find a mess of gifts on the ground outside.  In our house, Sint waited till we were all tucked in before riding his horse on the roof and delivering the gifts inside the house to be opened on the morning of the 6th.

A real beauty of the Sinterklaas celebration is that it provides a concrete line between this tradition and Christmas, which is traditionally a simple day characterized by a meal with family and a trip to mass or church.  In fact, Christmas decorations do not go up until after the 6th and come down sometime after epiphany on January 6th.

(*The Piets are a very beloved part of the Dutch Sinterklaas narrative, though they have been at the heart of a nationwide debate over the racial fairness of their portrayal and the history of their story.)




The church in our tiny village



A small chapel in the market of our larger local village

Epiphany:

Many Americans are unaware that the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" describe a tradition which is still widely celebrated across Europe.  The twelve days are referring to the days between the birth of Christ and the celebration of the arrival of the Magi, or wise men, to see the newborn King.  This day is called Epiphany, and it takes place on January 6th.  In France, a special cake is served, called the Galette des Rois, or King's Cake.  In parts of Germany and the Netherlands, children dressed as kings visit door-to-door soliciting money for a charitable cause, then perform a blessing for the house or make a mark above the doorway of the home with chalk. 

During this advent season, our local villages hosted Kerst stalls, or nativity scenes with live animals in the mangers. We visited these eagerly and often, and were met with at least as much eagerness on the part of the donkey. Someone must have been sneaking that guy some carrots.