This weekend, we've had the privilege of celebrating both St. Maarten's Day (the 11th of November) and the arrival of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (usually the third, or in this case the fourth, Sunday before the 5th of December). We've really come to enjoy these uniquely Dutch traditions.

It seemed to me that Sint Maarten's Day this year was more substantial than it usually is. Perhaps it's because it happened to fall on a Friday evening this year... Or perhaps it's because we just had three kids who were all in the right age range for getting into things... Or perhaps it's just because we went out with a bigger group from the kids' school, to mark the occasion. I don't know, but several of the Dutch parents also remarked on the phenomenon which was almost unknown to them in their childhood. In any event, Sint Maarten's Day just seemed like a bigger deal this year.

Not that it's really all that much hoopla. It's like a cross between American Christmas carrolling (in that there's singing involved) and American trick-or-treating (in that there's candy involved). Paper lanterns are thrown in there as a part of the mix, too. I made a little video clip of the occasion, in case you're curious. It's actually a very simple holiday... but a nice one.

Sinterklaas's arrival in the Netherlands, on the other hand, actually seemed to be something of a smaller celebration this year. Perhaps it was government cut-backs in the Sinterklaas budget... Or perhaps it was because of the fact that we've got one kid who's starting to grow out of the Sinterklaas phase (Elliot) plus one kid who's still a bit intimidated by the whole deal (Cor)... Or perhaps it's just that there's no novelty left in Sinterklaas for me, as a cross-cultural observer... In any event, it just felt slightly less significant this year.

Indeed it's interesting to watch the way that the collective cultural consciousness works in matters of Sinterklaas. Basically all of the kids in Elliot's class have now come to the full realization of the Sinterklaas myth (i.e. "He's not real"), and as such there actually seems to be something of a backlash among his peers. They don't want to have anything to do with such "baby stuff." They're too cool to watch the Sinterklaas Journaal (daily television program) now. They've left Sinterklaas behind them, at least for now. It actually creates a strange dynamic now with Elliot, who has always known the full extent of the Sinterklaas myth but still got swept up in the whole phenomenon, just for the fun of it. He doesn't feel any need to abandon the joys of Sinterklaas... but I wonder how much longer that will last. It's funny to watch kids grow up.

Just for the sake of balance, I'll also include a video clip of Sinterklaas's steamship cruising through the Nieuwe Herengracht...

In any event, I wish you a wonderful holiday season -- wherever you are, and whichever culture's set of holidays you might be celebrating!