It is interesting that this part of the world seems keep the holiday tradition separate from the birth of Christ, while in the States we have combined the two. However, the commercialism of Christmas is also bringing Santa to Belgium in recent years. In order to not confuse the children, it is actually not allowed to advertise with Santa for Christmas sales until after Sinterklaas has come and gone. In any case, tomorrow evening it is tradition to set out some snacks for Sinterklaas and his helpers. I'm sure if Mia is understanding everything at school she could give you all an earful about Zwarte Piet and their silly antics. In addition, there are no reindeer in this holiday, the gang comes on a boat from Spain and Sinterklaas goes from house to house while riding his horse. "Can the horse fly?" you may ask. I guess the answer is no, there is no need in this country as most of the houses are connected so he can walk from roof-top to roof-top. There are a number of other interesting tidbits we have come accross. I won't share them all, but one other funny thing is that bad children are not threatened with coal as a gift, but rather being put in Zwarte Piet's bag and taken back to Spain. So for goodness sake don't be bad! Unless you want to go back to a warmer climate with beautiful mountains and beaches?
On the eve of December 5th we are supposed to put out some refreshments and such for Sinterklaas and his gang. The typical thing is to place your shoes out so that they can be filled with candy and gifts. Inside your shoe it is common to place a carrot for the horse, some "nicnaks" which are a animal cracker like snack, and then since we are in Belgium it is customary to put out a beer too. Seems a bit different than a glass of cold milk and a chocolate chip cookie eh?
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