Text 24356, 88 rader
Skriven 2008-12-01 21:09:18 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 24322 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Attitudes
=================
Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Robert Bashe on Monday December 01 2008 at
12:12:

MV> Halloween is coming here too. A couple of weeks ago I got some kids at
MV> my doors that sang and begged for candy. For the first time in my
MV> life! Rosa tods me that in Amsterdam this has been going for a couple
MV> of years. I thought it was cute.. ;-)

The "trick or treat" part is, but the lawn decorations and halloween parties
really put me off.

MV> As long as Sinterklaas is around, children may place their shoes near
MV> the stove when they go to bed and then in the night Sinterklaas' aide,
MV> "Zwarte Piet" will come down the chimney and put some candy or some
MV> other small presens in the shoes.

:-)

And Santa Claus comes down the chimney in the States on the night before
Christmas (24 December), and leaves preasants for everyone. The children tack
stockings to the mantelplace, and Santa fills them with sweets, oranges and
small presents. The stockings are often quite decorative - I still have one of
red velvet lined with white silk, with various decorations sewed on it (Santa
and a sleigh, a tiny silver-painted wishbone for luck, a small toy cowboy
pistol and holster for me and various other things. A friend of my aunt made
them as a hobby and our whole family got one. Very good handwork. I don't use
mine nowadays, since it's meanwhile an antique, certainly 50 years old if not
more.

Ever hear the old poem "The Night Before Christmas"? Starts off..

'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
And I in my nightgown and you in your cap
had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

I can't remember the rest, but it's a nice poem.

MV> Sinterklaas' birthday is on December 6th, but the big festivity is on
MV> the eve of the 5th. If the kids are lucky Sinterklaas will come visit
MV> in person to bring the presents. If he is to busy, Zware Piet will
MV> come and drop the presents at the front door, with al lot of noise.

;-)))

And in the States, Christmas is on the morning of the 25th, in Germany the
evening of the 24th. I can still remember getting up early on the 25th and
stealing into the living room to see what Santa had brought. But - important -
we always ate breakfast before opening the presents, that was an iron rule.

When the whole family was together, it was a wlnderful celebration - I can
still remember one Christmas at the family farm with my folks and sister, my
grandmother, my aunt and her friend, my great-uncle and even my
great-grandmother (who lived until I was 16). My dad played Santa and handed
out the presents.

MV> I played the role of "Sinterklaas" several times. ;-)

Never got to do that myself, but I'm not much good in the "Ho-Ho-Ho" (Santa
laugh) department.

MV> There is lot more tradition around it, but this is the main story. As
MV> I said it is a very strong tradition that will probably be around for
MV> some time to come. And as the time frame conflicts with Halloween, the
MV> latter is not likely to penetrate real soon.

Perhaps one of the reasons Germany follows the Halloween tradition is that
supposedly the "Walpurgisnacht" or witches' sabbeth took place in the Harz
mountains in the southeastern part of the country at the end of October.

MV> As for the getting out of had, yes there is that too here, but to a
MV> lesser extent. Christmas candy in october is unheard of, but that
MV> again has to do with Sinterklaas. Tradition has it that Santa Claus
MV> and Sinterklaas should not be seen together. Sinterklaas leaves on dec
MV> 6th by steam boat. The hour after he leaves the Xmas trees start to
MV> appear....

Sounds like a nice combination.

Cheers, Bob

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