Sinterklaas, Feeling My Dutch Tap Root

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
With apologies to the Scottish root, have an extreme soft spot for my Huson/Crego/Kipp ancestors, the first not being a Dutch name but by the time it made it to the Civil War era, had displaced most of it's English genesis by dependably filling in generations featuring ' Antje's' and Jans. I was already a little smug over Santa, having some dim understanding of his own roots in the Olde Country, but was dreadfully uninformed not only on how Santa came about but that there exists to this day Santa's genial, more svelte grgrgrgrgruncle, Sinterklaas. I realize it's tough to read long posts, so apologise- skim with an eye closed for the important bits. It's a little hard to be accurate AND brief with this stuff.

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We seem to owe the existence of one of our most treasured and iconically (sp? ) American symbols of Christmas, forgivably connected with the gift of Christ’s birth and the holiday celebrating His Birth by being a lavishly gift-giving symbol, to our early Dutch ancestors. My mother and I were talking about some of them just the other day, musing over how a people not generally known for perhaps leaving a splash had indeed done so in spreading creative wings in their New World 400 years ago. Our family tree has strong roots branching through New Amsterdam, photos 150 years old twinkle at us. We have letters they wrote to each other, I think to us too. In the words of my ancestors I can hear the voices of a people who enchanted their children first, then an entire country with a chilly, kindly, red-clad, chubby old man and his compulsive need to make folks happy.
Sinterlaas
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http://blog.traceyourdutchroots.com/2008/11/sinterklaas-number-one-dutch-tradition.html
“Sinterklaas arrives about three weeks before his birthday (6 December), on a steamship, with his assistants, the Zwarte Pieten (sing. Zwarte Piet, Black Pete), his grey horse, and plenty of presents for all Dutch children. Each year, he arrives in a different town. This year, the arrival was in Almere, on 15 November. This arrival is broadcast live on Dutch television (it has been broadcast every year for decades). In the three weeks he is in The Netherlands, he visits every school, every shopping mall, and many homes and companies. If you are in The Netherlands this week, there is a good chance you will meet him - just visit the nearest mall. He will be sitting on a central spot, while his Zwarte Pieten are walking around the mall, handing out pepernoten (ginger bread cookies) to young children.

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Traditionally, on 5 December, children would put a shoe near the chimney. They would then find a present in it on the morning of 6 December, St. Nicholas day. Nowadays, children leave their shoes several times between the arrival of the steamship and St. Nicholas eve. In modern houses or apartments without a chimney they leave their shoes near a small window. The children put a carrot or some sugar cubes in their shoe and a cup of water next to it (for the grey horse), and sing a traditional St. Nicholas song (loudly in case one of the Zwarte Pieten is on the roof, so that he can hear their songs). At night, Sinterklaas will ride over the roofs (on his grey horse), or send one of his Zwarte Pieten, to throw presents through the chimney into the shoes. If the children left something for the horse, or for Sinterklaas (some children make a drawing and put it in their shoes, as a gift for Sinterklaas), a Zwarte Piet comes down the chimney (however small the chimney may be) to collect it.
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St. Nicholas eve is now pakjesavond, present eve. If there are small children, the family will get together and sing traditional Sinterklaas songs. After a while, there is a loud knock on the door, the door opens slightly, and the hand of a Zwarte Piet is seen. Zwarte Piet throws a handful of pepernoten into the room. The children first crawl around to collect the pepernoten, and then open the door to see if Zwarte Piet is still there. He never is, but they do find a basket full of presents that he left behind. (For some reason, Zwarte Piet always chooses a time when one of the adults has gone to the toilet, or gone out to get some fresh air. The adult is then disappointed that he missed all the fun...)

If there are no small children in the family, people will give each other gifts, usually anonymously. They will draw names to decide who gives to whom, and then put their gifts in a basket, and everyone will open their gift on St. Nicholas eve.

Gifts are usually accompanied by a short, simple poem about the receiver, often of a teasing nature (at least for adults and older children). The receiver must read this poem aloud before he is allowed to open the present. Also popular are the surprises (pronounced surpreeses): Either ingeniously wrapped gifts or little practical jokes.

According to our tradition, only sweet children get presents, while naughty children get a rod. Many Zwarte Pieten hold a rod, that they use to wave menacingly. Extremely naughty children go into the empty sacks that were used for transporting the presents, and they are taken away by Sinterklaas on his steamship. I've never heard of any children actually receiving a rod, let alone being taken away in sacks, so I assume there are only sweet children in The Netherlands. “
http://www.examiner.com/article/from-sinter-klaas-to-santa-claus
“ Sinter Klaas received little attention outside the Dutch communities in America for over a century. In 1809, Washington Irving changed that. In The History of New York, Irving listed Klaas as the patron saint of New York. At this point, Saint Nick was described as a bit of a character. Dutch culture helped define early New York and Saint Nicolas provided the city something uniquely their own. The saint was part of New York's identity.

In 1823, Saint Nicholas evolved from New York's patron saint and into the man revered by children worldwide. The Night Before Christmas filled in most of the details regarding Santa Claus. At this point, the United States searched for its own identity separate from England and Europe. Sinter Klaas became Saint Nick and was endowed with special power separating the New World from old. The anonymous poem included the sleigh, reindeer, bag of toys, sliding down the chimney, and so on. However, Santa is not yet the jolly fat man at the department store. Instead, he’s a small elf-like figure riding in a “miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer.” Elves come from the old world. This last vestige lasted only forty years.

In 1863, Saint Nicolas the elf becomes large old Santa Claus. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast renamed Saint Nicolas and provided the modern image of Santa. Nast’s version portrayed Santa as heavy set and wearing more or less the standard Santa garb. The hat, beard, and style and color of the suit are all familiar. Nast even placed Santa’s residence at the North Pole. In this case, Nast Americanizes Saint Nicolas. He is now Santa and not a saint. The religious connotations are gone and he is no longer an elf. The last vestiges of the old world are gone. “

Which brings me to the whole 1863 thing, Thomas Nast of the era, and another Christmas thread- hopefully tomorrow.

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Annie such a wonderful thread. So many beautiful pictures. Believe or not I collect Santas. I have ones from many countries and in various sizes. My favorite is one my husband gave me for Christmas 3 years ago. It is quite large. Santa is in a beautiful red velvet suit sits in his sleigh with his pack full of packages and is pulled by one reindeer. You plug it in and it lights up and Santa arms move and the reindeer moves his head and it plays Christmas carols.

When it comes to Christmas my husband says I never grew up.
 
With apologies to the Scottish root, have an extreme soft spot for my Huson/Crego/Kipp ancestors, the first not being a Dutch name but by the time it made it to the Civil War era, had displaced most of it's English genesis by dependably filling in generations featuring ' Antje's' and Jans. I was already a little smug over Santa, having some dim understanding of his own roots in the Olde Country, but was dreadfully uninformed not only on how Santa came about but that there exists to this day Santa's genial, more svelte grgrgrgrgruncle, Sinterklaas. I realize it's tough to read long posts, so apologise- skim with an eye closed for the important bits. It's a little hard to be accurate AND brief with this stuff.


We seem to owe the existence of one of our most treasured and iconically (sp? ) American symbols of Christmas, forgivably connected with the gift of Christ’s birth and the holiday celebrating His Birth by being a lavishly gift-giving symbol, to our early Dutch ancestors. My mother and I were talking about some of them just the other day, musing over how a people not generally known for perhaps leaving a splash had indeed done so in spreading creative wings in their New World 400 years ago. Our family tree has strong roots branching through New Amsterdam, photos 150 years old twinkle at us. We have letters they wrote to each other, I think to us too. In the words of my ancestors I can hear the voices of a people who enchanted their children first, then an entire country with a chilly, kindly, red-clad, chubby old man and his compulsive need to make folks happy.
Sinterlaas
http://blog.traceyourdutchroots.com/2008/11/sinterklaas-number-one-dutch-tradition.html
“Sinterklaas arrives about three weeks before his birthday (6 December), on a steamship, with his assistants, the Zwarte Pieten (sing. Zwarte Piet, Black Pete), his grey horse, and plenty of presents for all Dutch children. Each year, he arrives in a different town. This year, the arrival was in Almere, on 15 November. This arrival is broadcast live on Dutch television (it has been broadcast every year for decades). In the three weeks he is in The Netherlands, he visits every school, every shopping mall, and many homes and companies. If you are in The Netherlands this week, there is a good chance you will meet him - just visit the nearest mall. He will be sitting on a central spot, while his Zwarte Pieten are walking around the mall, handing out pepernoten (ginger bread cookies) to young children.

Traditionally, on 5 December, children would put a shoe near the chimney. They would then find a present in it on the morning of 6 December, St. Nicholas day. Nowadays, children leave their shoes several times between the arrival of the steamship and St. Nicholas eve. In modern houses or apartments without a chimney they leave their shoes near a small window. The children put a carrot or some sugar cubes in their shoe and a cup of water next to it (for the grey horse), and sing a traditional St. Nicholas song (loudly in case one of the Zwarte Pieten is on the roof, so that he can hear their songs). At night, Sinterklaas will ride over the roofs (on his grey horse), or send one of his Zwarte Pieten, to throw presents through the chimney into the shoes. If the children left something for the horse, or for Sinterklaas (some children make a drawing and put it in their shoes, as a gift for Sinterklaas), a Zwarte Piet comes down the chimney (however small the chimney may be) to collect it.

St. Nicholas eve is now pakjesavond, present eve. If there are small children, the family will get together and sing traditional Sinterklaas songs. After a while, there is a loud knock on the door, the door opens slightly, and the hand of a Zwarte Piet is seen. Zwarte Piet throws a handful of pepernoten into the room. The children first crawl around to collect the pepernoten, and then open the door to see if Zwarte Piet is still there. He never is, but they do find a basket full of presents that he left behind. (For some reason, Zwarte Piet always chooses a time when one of the adults has gone to the toilet, or gone out to get some fresh air. The adult is then disappointed that he missed all the fun...)

If there are no small children in the family, people will give each other gifts, usually anonymously. They will draw names to decide who gives to whom, and then put their gifts in a basket, and everyone will open their gift on St. Nicholas eve.

Gifts are usually accompanied by a short, simple poem about the receiver, often of a teasing nature (at least for adults and older children). The receiver must read this poem aloud before he is allowed to open the present. Also popular are the surprises (pronounced surpreeses): Either ingeniously wrapped gifts or little practical jokes.
According to our tradition, only sweet children get presents, while naughty children get a rod. Many Zwarte Pieten hold a rod, that they use to wave menacingly. Extremely naughty children go into the empty sacks that were used for transporting the presents, and they are taken away by Sinterklaas on his steamship. I've never heard of any children actually receiving a rod, let alone being taken away in sacks, so I assume there are only sweet children in The Netherlands. “
http://www.examiner.com/article/from-sinter-klaas-to-santa-claus
“ Sinter Klaas received little attention outside the Dutch communities in America for over a century. In 1809, Washington Irving changed that. In The History of New York, Irving listed Klaas as the patron saint of New York. At this point, Saint Nick was described as a bit of a character. Dutch culture helped define early New York and Saint Nicolas provided the city something uniquely their own. The saint was part of New York's identity.

In 1823, Saint Nicholas evolved from New York's patron saint and into the man revered by children worldwide. The Night Before Christmas filled in most of the details regarding Santa Claus. At this point, the United States searched for its own identity separate from England and Europe. Sinter Klaas became Saint Nick and was endowed with special power separating the New World from old. The anonymous poem included the sleigh, reindeer, bag of toys, sliding down the chimney, and so on. However, Santa is not yet the jolly fat man at the department store. Instead, he’s a small elf-like figure riding in a “miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer.” Elves come from the old world. This last vestige lasted only forty years.

In 1863, Saint Nicolas the elf becomes large old Santa Claus. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast renamed Saint Nicolas and provided the modern image of Santa. Nast’s version portrayed Santa as heavy set and wearing more or less the standard Santa garb. The hat, beard, and style and color of the suit are all familiar. Nast even placed Santa’s residence at the North Pole. In this case, Nast Americanizes Saint Nicolas. He is now Santa and not a saint. The religious connotations are gone and he is no longer an elf. The last vestiges of the old world are gone. “

Which brings me to the whole 1863 thing, Thomas Nast of the era, and another Christmas thread- hopefully tomorrow.

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Never heard of Sinterklaas but looks like fun. I was intrigued by Zwarte Piet and found that a significant controversy has developed in the Netherlands over the racial stereotypes associated with him. Seems that in public forums he's portrayed by a white guy in blackface. Even the UN was investigating but the public uproar over changing the tradition caused them to back off.
 
Yes, understandably, there has been a lot of controversy, I think mostly over how the character has sometimes been portrayed. In poking around, it seems that some kind of unspoken harmony has been achieved. The character which now travels with Sinterklaas is a nice, normal man who is black. I'm not at all sure there ever was a real racially awful intent there regardless? Do not know much of the culture there but I just do not think the racism across the pond is at all the same as we experience it here.

I lived in the UK for 5 years- could be wrong, but just didn't see it. Anyone with the least amount of a dark skin was considered ' black ' ( where I lived, maybe it's different in different areas? ) but this meant nothing other than descriptive, seemingly. Deep, unreasonable distrust and dislike based on nothing more than who a group of people are, of the type one connects with an ' ism ' - well, heard it reserved for the Gypsy population sometimes, and boy, they are not crazy about the French but heard zero- in 5 years- about one single person based on the color of their skin. Maybe this exists in cities, I personally did not see it. If this is a European perspective, not just British, makes me question whether or not Zwarte Piet was originally anything more than Sinterklaas's companion, or the original ' elf ', who knows. Having said that- of course I do not know either for certain. :smile:
 
The plan is not to keep recycling last year's Christmas threads- just thought to bring them around first. The thing is- a lot of these require as much of an airing as bringing home the tree. It's just part of the holiday. No point in making an entirely new thread on the same subject.

I'd have to guess more people have a touch of Dutch than know it- funny what you find when beginning to dig around roots. Think about it. You have 4 grandparents, 8 grgrandparents, 16 grgrgrandparents, THIRTYTWO grgrgrgrandparents- and, well a lot of the rest. It's why DNA is such a blast, we all think we know until it comes back. Mine found a decent chunk of GREEK, for crying out loud. GREEK. Have our tree solidly back all over the place except for 2 mystery 3x grandparents. I do like baklava, hmmm.

Anyway, with New Amsterdam having been settled so early, bringing along Sinterklaas, who knows whose genes are inexplicably asking them to put their shoes by the door. And gosh I hope the whole race controversy over poor Zwarte Piet can be settled, he can go back to being Sinterklaas's helper.

We have the most amazingly pretty pair of mittens Mom says are from these roots of ours- probably a Christmas present no one ever wore, have to dig them out for this thread. Wish we knew more as to how long our ancestors in this country kept these traditions.
 
It transpires the pair are celebrated in the Old Country exactly like Santa Claus and the elves- these are SO dear, only a few of zillions. Kid's art is one of my favorite, favorite things on the planet.


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Bumping, ' Sinterklaas ' came up on another thread plus it is past time for those dancing sugar plums to make an appearance on all our dreams, no?

" Sinterklaas " must sometimes dispense with Zwarte Piet. 'Black Peter' through various interpretations of St. Nick's ' sidekick '- as an enslaved man rather than a hired servant of the type, any background, employed by travelers. Fair enough. Being called ' Black Pete ' for centuries could become wearisome, to be sure. In this Dutch holiday Zwarte Piet shares Sinterklaas's adventures, rides on twinkling hooves over roof tops, is honored by villagers and townspeople alike. ' Black ' was downgraded by way of definition over decades to- Peter and Sinterklaas's discomfort. He frequently rides in solitary splendor, occasionally meeting up with Peter as in Christmases of old.

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Sinterklaas enjoys a limited population of admirers for another reason - close cousin to St. Nick he persists in the wearing of religious symbols other than that of JC Penny or Walmart. Another cousin, Santa Claus ( you know how those names became spelled variously when immigrants went through Ellis Island ) dropped the family's COA and so became accepted by a wider audience of believers.
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Of course the Dutch traditions of New Amsterdam (NY) eventually morphed into New Yorker Clement Moore's famous 1822 poem, the basis of the modern American Santa Claus. Somehow poor St. Nick transformed from a bishop to an elf!

Interestingly, although much of Europe pictured Moors as black, they actually weren't! The inhabitants of Morocco were (and still are) of Arab and Berber descent, with some Spanish thrown in as a result of the long Moorish occupation of the Iberian peninsula. St. Augustine was a Berber (the Arabs didn't migrate into North Africa until a bit after his time).
 
Of course the Dutch traditions of New Amsterdam (NY) eventually morphed into New Yorker Clement Moore's famous 1822 poem, the basis of the modern American Santa Claus. Somehow poor St. Nick transformed from a bishop to an elf!

Interestingly, although much of Europe pictured Moors as black, they actually weren't! The inhabitants of Morocco were (and still are) of Arab and Berber descent, with some Spanish thrown in as a result of the long Moorish occupation of the Iberian peninsula. St. Augustine was a Berber (the Arabs didn't migrate into North Africa until a bit after his time).

Missed this when you posted it. Did not know that! Zwarte Pete has been drawn perfectly dreadfully- obviously an awful presentation in a lot of illustrations. No ' buts '- he can be eye-poppingly offensive. In his role, European, supporting Saint Nicholas ( some ' Sinterklaas/Sinterlaas cards say ' Saint Nicholas ', not ' Sinterlaas- this must be where the connection happened? ) , he was honored. I've heard interpretations of his role as that of more buffoon. That does seem modern although he was a servant. I'm not splitting hairs when I say the iconic servant on horseback in old Europe was not confined to race- that is a class distinction.
 
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Some cards which seem to mix ' Sinterklaas ' and Saint Nicholas '- not that it matters, love them so much I'm leaving my clogs, I mean shoes outside the door. In point of fact have worn those things all my life- no problem finding some genuine enough to attract Sinterklaas to out house.

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Delft! Of course!

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Here's one fellow making American Christmas a little confusing- one of them, anyway. It's clear we require a run down of all our gift givers, fearsome fellows, child abusers and coal givers to keep them straight- it's America, where they must cross paths Christmas Eve, and maybe swap stories.
 
Love this history, the images! Thank you, for digging into the past, and sharing this with us.
 
I don't remember seeing this thread in previous years. I'm really thankful that it was bumped up. The illustrations are terrific. I especially like those in the art nouveau style. Zwart Piet is new to me. I think he's pretty interesting. I like his costuming.
 
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