Sinterklaas is getting quite busy again

Since Nov 1st it is officially allowed to receive Sinterklaas or Saint Nicolas, the Holy man in the Belgian stores (and to make toy publicity for Sinterklaas). Some stores got into trouble for decorating the store already to early in his honor this year.

But now he is officially in the country again. He has set foot on the Belgian soil again, so all kids better behave in the coming weeks! From the sofa I am enjoying the national broadcast of the arrival of his steamship in Antwerp.
We saw the arrival of the boat on the river with Saint Nicolas on board and all his "Zwarte Pieten" and "Slechtweervandaag" the white horse,...
We saw the mayor of Antwerp welcoming him, the crowds with hundreds of excited children , the parade going through the city where Sinterklaas is lead to the town hall where he'll traditionally greet the crowds, .... Very cool, very exciting if you are a kid.

I just hope those kids cannot google too much or don't have access to all Dutch tv stations at home. If not they'd see on the Dutch national (commercial) tv, Sinterklaas's official arrival by boat in Kampen in the Netherlands, his arrival, the parade on his horse through the streets, .... and its own special child news broadcast.

Or they could see on the internet news about the arrival of Sinterklaas in Rotterdam today where he'll arrive in the port and listen to the kids singing to him and make a small parade through the city, .... but at the same time he also arrives in Breda and also in Enschede. And he's also going to greet all children in Amsterdam today. Hopefully his arrival in Vlaardingen is then already over :p. Apparently he could not add Leiden to his agenda anymore today, as he is going to 'arrive' in Leiden only next week :p

Unfortunately I apparently just missed his arrival and reception at the townhall of my own city Leuven. But if my mom still has to do some shopping downtown where she lives, she might get stuck in the children's chaos over there.

wow wow wow, hurray for Sinterklaas. He surely is extremely busy today. I never knew there was an international consensus that "His" arrival should be planned 3 weeks before the big children's holiday (Dec 6). On the other hand, children can only be at one spot at the same time, so a synchronised arrival everywhere, might be less confusing for them :p

Comments

Betsy said…
Oh I'm so sorry that we missed his arrival in the Netherlands! We've been there before with the kids to see the boat arrive and it's so EXCITING! Every year again!

I love the programs the Dutch news does around his arrival every year. The Petes always manage to lose the presents or get lost themselves-- very spannend!

I'm going to follow your links and see if maybe they've posted some of it online!

Hope Sinterklaas and the Petes are good to you! And instead of kidnapping you and stuffing you in a sack to take to Spain I hope they leave you a stack of nice presents..
anno said…
There are rules for when Sinterklaas can appear? What a great idea! Sometimes he shows up around here as early as late September!

As for the multiple copies, I knew they weren't the real thing, so I justified them as "representatives." Kind of like priests.
Betsy said…
Hahahahaha!

ik ben heeeeeel erg blij! Ik heb namelijk net het Sinterklaas journaal bekeken en zoals altijd was het heel grappig!

"Zeg, Hoofdpiet? Volgens mij zijn de Pietjes alle cadeutjes aan het uitpakken."

"Maar nee, Sinterklaas! U kijkt in de spiegel. Dan lijkt alles.. eeeeh... andersom..."

"Oh jaaaa? Nou, ga toch maar effe kijken!"

"Hé! Wat is dit nou!!!"

:-D

Dank je wel voor de links!
Goofball said…
@Betsy: The Belgian version is quite good as well!

Their comments are funny for both adults as children. Other people agree with me :)
http://www.lienweb.be/2007/11/17/de-aankomst-van-de-sint

but I am glad you got to enjoy this glorious day a bit as well!
Kirsten said…
Ik heb de aankomst gemist en nu lees en vind ik overal commentaren over de Sint die Antwerpen betrad!
Onder andere hier dus :o)
Jen said…
LOL... I love the images for all the Sinterklaas arrivals. It's like our Salvation Army santas that are on every block? I wonder if little children are taught about cloning before hearing about Santa Claus these days.

Again, very interesting things from Europe. Thank you!
Jenn in Holland said…
AND in Scheveningen! He arrived Saturday at the harbor and then spent the night at the Atlantic Hotel in Kijkduin! We were of course there at the beach to welcome him when he woke from his long night's sleep (after all that work appearing in so many places at the same time!)as he greeted us first from the hotel balcony and then came down to the square to join in all the fun!

Hey, what does French speaking Belgium do about Sinterklaas? I know France has it's own traditions with Father Noel, but what about the Belgians? I am very curious.
sari said…
i think this sounds wonderful!

last year, my father was Santa for the big holiday party in his little town. of course i had to go see him, but it was a little hard to explain to the boys!

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