Last weekend, we took a trip to Oosterhout, the Netherlands to welcome Sinterklaas to town. (For a little history of the tradition, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas). Everyone was lined up along the waterway, and Sinterklaas arrives by boat from Spain, with his Zwarte Pieten (men and women in blackface, if you can believe it) and his white horse, Americo. The men and women in blackface are because they are the ones who come down the chimney to deliver the gifts. There were even kids in the audience dressed in blackface! They gave all the kids horns, so there was quite a bit of noise.
We were a little far away, so it was hard for the kids to see him arrive, but they were excited. We were trying to explain the difference between Sinterklaas and Santa (since Sinterklaas will deliver presents to the kids on Dec. 6, while Santa will bring presents in the U.S.) It seemed easiest to just say they were brothers, especially because I think my explanation is already forgotten.
After he disembarked from the boat, a parade began. It was mostly his helpers at first, distributing oranges and cookies and candies. It was interesting to note that most goodies were unwrapped. Can you imagine letting your kids eating unwrapped food handed out at a parade in the US?.
The kids were excited to see Sinterklaas up close, but he went by really fast. It was a lot of fun to experience a new holiday tradition (even though it seemed really politically incorrect).
Beaujolais Nouveau
It's been a while since I had my beaujolais parties (before kids), but I still enjoy it. There were a TON of different bottles available when it was released on the 15th, and I snapped up quite a few (I now have more wine than I can ever drink, I think!). We went to a party at my French teacher's house for the release, and she had several wines and lots of fancy cheeses. It was great fun!
More to Come
There's more to come later this week about our trip with the Rousseaus. It's hard to blog after a week of traveling (even though they were short trips), but I'll try to do it in pieces....
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