Winter holidays in the Netherlands

Happy holidays, allemaal! After almost a month of celebrating the holidays in new ways here, I thought I’d share a little bit of what we discovered that’s different in December than the U.S.

Our Saturday morning bike route into town to attend our Dutch language class. It was 8:30 AM. This day we walked because of the Kerstmarkt happening later that morning. Wise choice.

Sinterklass

I missed writing about this holiday when it happened on December 6th. Sinterklass is different than our U.S. Santa Claus but also similar. He has a long white beard but wears a Bishop’s hat. He delivers presents on the 6th and travels via boat from Spain, arriving on November 11th. He has helpers but … well, there’s a controversy about them so their look is ‘evolving’. Instead of stockings, presents are left in your shoes. You leave a carrot for his horse that takes him from house to house. Kids (and adults) write poems to friends and family and hide presents in elaborate ways. They make a big deal about how Sinterklaas travels through the NL via canal and every year there is a snafu that almost ruins all the fun, only to be saved at the last minute. Kids watch a new episode of his journey on tv every day for weeks.

Holiday Decor

The BEST frites in Haarlem and unfortunately we pass by it every time we walk in and out of the centrum. Did you know the Dutch eat fries in a cone with lekker mayonnaise piled on top with a wooden fork?

The Dutch just do it better, sorry U.S. It’s just more tasteful and charming here, perhaps because it’s so dark this time of year. There was a bit of a controversy this year on some of the expat FB groups as every house in some neighborhoods hung a lit globe from their flagpole and some new expats felt left out (it wasn’t us, lol). They figured there was some secret tradition and their Dutch neighbors were excluding them. What had happened was a few neighbors started it in Tilberg a few years ago, it spread to other houses, then neighborhoods and then … all over the country. The Dutch all like to conform and this is a perfect example.

Hot Chocomel

Chocomel is a Dutch chocolate drink you see everywhere here and we started noticing it in November offered as hot chocolate on menus with a side of ‘slagroom’ (whipped cream). There’s a sweet, elderly lady who sits in the same café in the same spot near our train station and orders her hot Chocomel with an enormous side of slagroom. I’ve never seen someone so content looking rapturously at her drink with a smile on her face as she tucks into it. I noticed some twentysomethings ordering it and then saw it offered ‘spiked’ at one of the Christmas markets.

Kerstmarkt

Haarlem is supposed to have one of the best … it’s certainly the largest, spread out all through the city center for blocks and blocks. We went this year with a friend from our Dutch language class and thankfully, it wasn’t as packed as we had been told it has been in years past. We found lots of shops, gluhwein, coffee and olliebollen. Plus some horse meat.

Kerstmas

Bows as decor are very popular here. I have yet to see ‘fake’ ribbon here like you have everywhere in the U.S. It’s all real fabric!

The Dutch do celebrate Christmas on the 25th but they take their time with it and also celebrate on the 26th. We’ve heard the second day is all about shopping though, which doesn’t surprise me at all. There aren’t as many presents exchanged (if at all?) but it’s really a time to have a meal or two with your family. Family is really big here compared to the U.S. Since the country is so small, one can’t use the excuse of it being too far to travel back home to see family. We walked into town on Christmas Eve and saw people going about doing their shopping in not so lovely weather.

Notice NO CARS! It’s been interesting to watch how to carry a tree home on your bike.

Albert Heijn hamsteren

Albert Heijn is one of the bigger grocery store chains here. It took us a few days to figure this out but we started seeing stuffed hamsters named Harry on display at our local chain. Then we saw the ad. It was really cute. Apparently, there’s a new stuffed hamster released every year to celebrate the holidays. But then we learned the meaning behind the hamster. There is a verb in the Dutch language called ‘hamsteren’ and it means ‘to hoard’. The Dutch do consumerism really well and also have a clever sense of humor.

For more ways the Dutch celebrate the holidays, check out this post. Happy holidays! I’ll let you know how the New Year’s celebrations go. We’ve heard there are a LOT of fireworks even though they are illegal in our city .. we shall see.