Dutch children eagerly await St. Nicholas Day on December 6th, when the kindly bishop Sinterklaas arrives by ship from Spain bringing gifts in his sack. Families celebrate at home with food and personalized letter cakes. They exchange carefully wrapped gifts accompanied by poems, though the gifts are signed as being from Sinterklaas. On Christmas Eve, children leave shoes filled with hay and carrots by the fireplace hoping Sinterklaas will come. Later, families decorate trees, go to church, and have a special family dinner before gathering by the fire to tell stories.

1. Christmas at Holland.
Dutch children in Holland, or the Netherlands,
anxiously look forward to St. Nicholas Day on
December 6. While they eagerly await the arrival
of Sinterklaas, the people around them shop for
gifts, write a little poem to accompany each one,
and carefully wrap each gift to keep the
contents a surprise to the receiver.
Sinterklaas is a kindly bishop. He wears red
robes and a tall, pointed mitre on his head.
Sinterklaas travels by ship from Spain to
Amsterdam's harbor every winter. With him he
brings his white horse and a huge sack full of
gifts for the children. The mayor and all the
people of Amsterdam flock to the harbor to
greet Sinterklaas as he arrives. Bells ring out,
the people cheer, and a brass band leads a
parade through the streets. The parade stops at
the royal palace, where the Queen welcomes
Sinterklaas.
Families celebrate St. Nicholas Eve at home with
lots of good food, hot chocolate, and a
letterbanket. This is a "letter cake" made in the
shape of the first letter of the family's last
name. In some families, each person gets a little
letterbanket with their first initial.
Then out come the carefully chosen and wrapped
"surprises." Every gift is accompanied by a

2. personal verse written by the giver about the
recipient. And even though the gifts are from
family and friends, they all are signed
"Sinterklaas." No one is supposed to know who
really gave the gift. The way they are wrapped
adds to the surprise. A small gift might be
hidden in a potato. A big gift might be kept a
surprise by being hidden in the attic. The
recipient opens a smaller gift that contains a
note telling the recipient where to find the real
package.
Finally, at the end of the evening, the children
set their shoes by the fireplace. The shoes are
filled with hay and carrots for the horse
Sinterklaas rides through the streets on St.
Nicholas Eve. The children sing a song about
how much they hope the cold, wet, foggy weather
will not keep Sinterklaas away that night. Then
they tell their parents how well, or how badly,
they have behaved throughout the past year.
When well-behaved children awake in the
morning, their shoes are filled with nuts, candy,
and other surprises.
In the eastern part of Holland, farm families
announce the coming of Christmas from the first
Sunday of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday
before Christmas, until Christmas Eve by blowing
a horn made from hollow elder-tree branches.
The horns make an eerie noise as they are blown
at every farm in the neighborhood.

3. Later in December, Dutch families decorate a
Christmas tree and trim the house with candles,
evergreens, and holly. Some children hang up a
stocking from the fireplace mantel on Christmas
Eve, but there are no more presents after St.
Nicholas Day for most Dutch children.
Families go to church together on Christmas Eve
and then again on Christmas morning. They
gather together for a family dinner of roast
hare, venison, goose, or turkey. Eggnog and a
mulled drink are specially made for this
celebration. After dinner, the family gathers
before the fireplace to tell stories and sing
carols.
December 26 is called Second Christmas Day.
Often the family goes out to a restaurant to eat
on that day. Many concerts, recitals, and other
musical performances make this Christmas Day
special.

4. Κωνσταντίνος Φαρλέκας , Εργασία Αγγλικων '' Christmas around
the world ''