One of the great things about living in a different country and being immersed in a new culture, is learning about and sometimes adopting new traditions. Belgium’s Sinterklaas celebration is something we have well and truly adopted and I suspect is a ritual we will enact for many years to come.
Last night was Sinterklaas eve and, just as we did in Belgium, the girls left a shoe by the fireplace with some treats for Sinterklaas, Piet and the horse known as Slecht-Weer-Vandag or Bad Weather Today!
Once the girls were safely tucked up in bed, Sinterklaas made his visit, polishing off the yummy nibbles and leaving a couple of treats for the girls.
Yesterday I whipped up a batch of speculaas cookies and the girls each took a tin to school today to share with their friends and even promised to sing the Sinterklaas song.
Adults who are reading, if you are interested in finding out more about Sinterklaas, and having a laugh whilst doing so, click here to listen to the wonderful American humorist and columnist David Sedaris giving his take on the Sinterklaas celebrations he observed in the Netherlands. It’s about fifteen minutes long but well worth a listen.
Take care everyone. Stay tuned for more festive fun!
on the cRoad again 
It is wonderful to see that you have kept the Belgian tradition and that the girls can keep enjoying it 🙂 I also noticed that Santa’s Elf is visiting you! Which name did the girls choose for him? Have you seen the movie? I hope Olive and Edie had a great time at school with their respective presentations 🙂