Holland's version of Santa Claus: Sinterklaas

The Sinterklaas Journaal (Saint Nicholas News) is on television every year, and children can watch it three days before Saint Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands in November, until it ends on 4 December. It begins after another programme that is called: ’sesamestreet’. Children can see what Saint Nicholas experiences. When Saint Nicholas arrives in The Netherlands on Saturday at 12 am, there’s a really long episode from the Saint Nicholasjournal with live coverage.

Presenter Diewertje Blok and reporter Jeroen Kramer are presenting the entry.

A normal episode consists of:

- Main topics (usually three)

- Short news

- Black Peet weather

Every Sunday there’s a weekly review and after the last episode, there’s a year review.

Tessa Meulens, class 2vb, Adelbert College.

Saint Nicholas at schools.

Every year when Saint Nicholas is in Holland, he also visits schools. He goes from school to school on his horse, Amerigo, to make children happy with presents (if they’ve been nice, and didn’t do any bad things, if they did, they’ll take you in their big bags). His helpers, Zwarte pieten (Black Peets), throw with sweets and pepernoten (peppernuts, they are like little biscuits) to the children. All of them love the peppernuts, they are delicious! Every kid is really greatful when he pulls the paper of his presents, and they show that with singing Saint- Nicholas songs for him and his helpers.

Michelle Schreuder, Tessa Meulens, Maarten Konings, Omar van der Hulst, class 2vb, Adelbert College

Activities in Holland around Sinterklaas

yesterday on Sunday we baked pepernuts and I can tell you they where delicious.

On five December we celebrated Saint Nicholas. It was a nice party because we got a lot of presents.

Here is some information about the food that we eat on Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas comes 3 weeks before the fifth of December. Than the black petes throw with sweats at kids and the kids are very happy with those sweets

Here are some things that we eat with Saint Nicholas:

· Pepernuts

· Choclateletters

· Marsepijn

· Pepernuts covered with choclate

· Tai tai dolls

· Kruidnoten

· Choclate money

If you want to make pepernuts yourself with your class or with friends you can go to this site www.sinterklaasrecepten.nl/recept_pepernoten.htm

For more information or if you want to make yourself chocolate letters, you can go to this site

www.chocoladeletter.nl

Joost, Daan, Gilian and Ilse

Here is an episode of the Sinterklaas News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj8c06LBSgs