HAPPY THANKSGIVING WCC!

[PinkTowelGirl]

what are you thankful for?


 

[.:TimeLock:.]

Life, Love, Family, and Freinds

HAPPY THANXGIVING NEEKIE

[PinkTowelGirl]

Life, Love, Family, and Freinds

HAPPY THANXGIVING NEEKIE

AWWWWW I AM SOOO TOUCHED..... Happy Tufokey day LEE!!  

[Z the laidback Virus]

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here but I'll wish you a happy Sinterklaas (a great celebration time over here)


That's Sinterklaas



And this is a Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) who helps Sint giving the children presents.

a Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) bio:

For small children in the Netherlands, St. Nicholas eve is even more important than Christmas (the Dutch celebrate Christmas Eve with Santa as well, but it is more for the older children and grownups).

On the evening of each 5th of December, Saint Nicholas brings presents to every child which has been nice (in practice to all children). St. Nicholas, wearing a red bishop's dress including a red bishop's mitre rides, so the story goes, on a white horse over the rooftops of houses and is helped by his countless helpers, who have charcoal black faces and colorful Moorish dresses that date back two centuries. His helpers are called 'zwarte pieten' (black peters).

St. Nicholas himself has a long white beard, and holds a long gold colored staff with a fanciful curled top in his hand.

Each year St. Nicholas arrives by boat from 'Spain', and is then paraded through the streets of the town he arrives in (in actuality in each town of the Netherlands) welcomed by cheering children. His black peters throw hands full of candy and very small specially made round, hard cookies (Pepernoten) into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional St. Nicholas songs. St. Nicholas also visits schools and shopping malls.

In the weeks before the 5th of December children can put their shoes in the hallway (traditionally before the stove) with a carrot or some hay in it for St. Nicholas' horse, in the evening, and will find a piece of candy (a piece of marzipan, an animal made out of sugar or a chocolate frog) in their shoes. Traditionally it was said that Black Peter would enter the house through the chimney, which also explained his black face and hands, and would leave a bundle of sticks (called "roe") in the shoe instead of candy when the child had not been nice. Children are also told that when they behave very badly they will be put into the sack black peter carries the presents in and will be taken back to Spain.

At the evening (or late afternoon) of the 5th of December children at home sing a song and suddenly the doorbell rings, and when they go to the door a gunny sack full of presents is found on the doorstep. Alternatively (some improvisation is often called for) the parents 'hear a sound coming from the attic' and then the presents are 'found there.

The children, up to an age of usually seven or eight years, really believe in Sinterklaas. They think that he actually lives forever and that he comes from Spain, that he knows everything about the children and that his Zwarte Pieten crawl through chimneys. The period between his arrival and December 5 is therefore very exciting.

When children ask their parents how it can be that Sinterklaas is at so many places, they tell that he has 'Hulp' (assistent) Sinterklasen. Further, parents report in advance to the Sinterklaas at their family-gathering what the children have done good and wrong, so it looks like when the 'Goedheiligman' looks in his book, he knows everything.

For those small children, telling them at a certain age that Sinterklaas in reality doesn't exist, is the first big disappointment. There are some people who don't let their children believe in Sinterklaas, because they think it is not good to lie in general. But the common opinion is that the enjoyment for the children get is greater than this small discomfort.

The celebration of Sinterklaas is a great thing!