The Tradition of Sinterklaas,

a book in progress

In the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas, gift giving is an art form. The perfect gift isn't enough on its own: you must also write a poem. It has to be clever, circling around the gift without ever naming it directly, building anticipation and delight for everyone taking part in this gezellig tradition.

The Best Day of the Year

The best day of the year in our family tradition

Is the one where we gather with lofty ambition

To see which will spin the most epic of yarns

How the words weave, in knit or with darns.

All gifts come from Sint, our patron of mirth

We work at his beck and strive to unearth

The perfect of gifts for each of our kin

We gather together and then we begin.

Joy and delight are the emotions we seek

We write the poems bathed in mystique

To befuddle the reader but also give clues

With riddles and rhymes we try to amuse.

The aim is to experience the gift of knowing

Both of your family but also that the flowing

Goes in both directions in the same way

You read the love and it makes your day.

Love Sint

The Tradition of Sinterklaas

is about showing love and affection for family and friends through the gift of knowing. It is about a tradition that savours the moments where everyone gathered is included in the ritual of exchange, both the gift itself and the poem that accompanies it. This book exists to model a way of giving that takes time: to find the exact right gift for the exact right person, and then to write the poem that will delight them. This is a collection drawn from 25 years of that practice, written primarily by me and my husband, who contributed quite a few of his own, in a time when gifting has become a race to get it opened and move on.

The figure of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of orphans and sailors, is one of the most traveled stories in history. He originated in the city of Myra, in what is now Turkey, and served as its Bishop, known above all for his extraordinary generosity. His bones were later brought to Bari, Italy, where the Basilica di San Nicola was built to house them and became a major pilgrimage destination. That spirit of giving is what carried his story forward across centuries and continents. Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas with them to New Amsterdam, the city that would become New York, where the name gradually shifted in American mouths from Sint Nikolaas to Sinterklaas to Santa Claus. The red suit, the reindeer, the chimney, the sack of gifts: the American Santa Claus is Sinterklaas seen through the particular lens of a new country making the tradition its own. What remained constant, across all of it, was the central idea: that the right gift, given with care and attention to the person receiving it, is an act of love.

In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas became Sinterklaas, and his feast day on December 5th is one of the most beloved celebrations of the year. Each year in mid-November he arrives by steamboat into the harbour of Amsterdam and cities across the country, beginning the season of giving that culminates on the eve of his feast day. It was this tradition that my mother Ruth brought with her from her native Amsterdam, planting it in a new family and a new country, where it has been celebrated and written about with love ever since.

Here is a sampling of the poems in the book and ones that clearly give the idea that the poems must never name the gift, but must always describe around it to ensure the mystery of the gift is kept until it’s opened. All gifts come from “Sint”.

Misdirection Blinds

Be aware that you will be judged here,

for a written performance to all,

directions are clear that you must adhere,

you begin to create, this will not fall.

How to describe a gift that you cannot,

is the point of doing these yearly,

you must find a good way to also stop,

the poems will be cherished so dearly.

What is the point though of this tradition?

to befuddle your kin to guess,

you know them well with no inhibition,

delighting them is fun you can confess.

To test your wits against the smartest minds,

laughing as your misdirection blinds.

Love Sint

The Gift: This poem is the gift, an explanation of the tradition itself, written for everyone gathered.

Vindolanda

Lamenting the cold, the soldier wrote his mum

Please send new socks for my poor cold feet

The weather is terrible, my body is quite numb

Underwear and sandals will also be a treat.

"Paria udonum ab Sattua

 solearum duo et subligariorum duo,"

Written by a soldier stationed at Vindolanda

Love Sint

The Gift: Socks