Sinterklaas

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Sinterklaas arriving in the Dutch town of Schiedam in 2009

Sinterklaas (Dutch: [ˌsɪntərˈklaːs]) or Sint-Nicolaas (Dutch: [sɪnt ˈnikoːlaːs] ( listen)) is a

legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch
names for the figure include De Sint ("The Saint"), De Goede Sint ("The Good
Saint") and De Goedheiligman ("The Good Holy Man"). Many descendants and
cognates of "Sinterklaas" or "Saint Nicholas" in other languages are also used in the
Low Countries, nearby regions and former Dutch colonies. [note 1]
The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December.
The feast is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas' Eve (5
December) in the Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas
Day, in Belgium, Luxembourg, and northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine, and
Artois). The tradition is also celebrated in some territories of the former Dutch
Empire, including Aruba.
Sinterklaas is one of the sources of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus.[1]

Contents

 1Figures
o 1.1Sinterklaas
o 1.2Zwarte Piet
 2Celebration
o 2.1Arrival from Spain
o 2.2Period leading up to Saint Nicholas' Eve
o 2.3Saint Nicholas' Eve and Saint Nicholas' Day
 3History
o 3.1Pre-Christian Europe
o 3.2Middle Ages
o 3.316th and 17th centuries
o 3.419th century
o 3.5World War II
  4Sinterklaas in the former Dutch colonies
 5Sinterklaas as a source for Santa Claus
 6Sinterklaas in fiction
 7Related holiday figures
 8See also
 9References
 10Notes
 11External links

Figures[edit]
Sinterklaas[edit]

Sinterklaas played by Bram van der Vlugt

Sinterklaas is based on the historical figure of Saint Nicholas (270–343), a Greek

bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. He is depicted as an elderly, stately and
serious man with white hair and a long, full beard. He wears a long red cape
or chasuble over a traditional white bishop's alb and a sometimes-red stole, dons a
red mitre and ruby ring, and holds a gold-coloured crosier, a long ceremonial
shepherd's staff with a fancy curled top. [2]
He traditionally rides a white horse. In the Netherlands, the last horse was
called Amerigo, but he was "pensioned" (i.e., died) in 2019 and replaced with a new
horse called Oh zo snel ("oh so fast"), after a passage in a well-known Sinterklaas
song.[3] In Belgium, the horse is named Slecht weer vandaag, meaning "bad weather
today"[4] or Mooi weer vandaag ("nice weather today").[5]
Sinterklaas carries a big, red book which records whether each child has been good
or naughty in the past year.[6]
Zwarte Piet[edit]
Two Dutch women in costume as Zwarte Piet

Main article: Zwarte Piet

Sinterklaas is assisted by Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete"), a helper dressed in Moorish
attire and in blackface. Zwarte Piet first appeared in print as the nameless servant of
Saint Nicholas in Sint-Nikolaas en zijn knecht ("St. Nicholas and His Servant"),
published in 1850 by Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman; however, the
tradition appears to date back at least as far as the early 19th century. [7] Zwarte Piet's
colourful dress is based on 16th-century noble attire, with a ruff (lace collar) and a
feathered cap. He is typically depicted carrying a bag which contains candy for the
children, which he tosses around, a tradition supposedly originating in the story of
Saint Nicholas saving three young girls from prostitution by tossing golden coins
through their window at night to pay their dowries.