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Sinterklaas
In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve (December 5) is the chief occasion for gift-giving. The evening is called "sinterklaasavond" or "pakjesavond" ("presents evening"). In the Netherlands, children receive their presents on this evening whereas in Belgium, children put their shoe in front of the fireplace on the evening of December 5, then go to bed, and find the presents around the shoes on the morning of the 6th.
Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam) which had been swapped by the Dutch for other territories, reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past. The name Santa Claus supposedly derived from older Dutch Sinte Klaas.
The Hague, 30 November 2018.
In the Netherlands, on 5 December, some children and adults have the tradition to celebrate Sinterklaas (Saint-Nicholas) with the giving of gifts to each other. In some families (or groups of friends), people also make surprise-packages for each other, objects with presents hidden inside. This year, we made a whale of papier-mâché as surprise-package.