Sinterklaas

Although I did promise a technical report on the Dutch system of land reclamation, I feel I really must explain who Sinterklaas is and why my because of him my entire company was allowed to leave work an hour early today.

Sinterklaas is to Santa Claus what the Hi-5 is to the Wiggles.  Both parties dress ridiculously and do their best to keep small children entertained but one has had much more international success.  Sinterklass, much like jolly old Santa, dresses in red and has a long white beard but that is about where the similarity ends.

Sinterklaas is in fact a bishop who carries a crosier and wears a mitre with a big cross on the front.  He lives in Spain and comes to Holland by a steam boat on Dec 5th of each year to ride his white horse around the Netherlands delivering gifts of chocolate and oranges with the help of his African helper "Zwarte Piet" or "Black Peter".

Zwarte Piet en Sinterklass

What's more, instead of putting gifts in your stocking suspended above the fireplace Sinterklaas places the gifts in your shoe placed inside the fireplace.  It is advised to leave a carrot for his horse to eat and children that have been naughty during the year are given a gift of salt.

Crazy Dutch people, a fat dude from the earth's northern ice cap with a herd of flying reindeer is way more believable.