By Ines Keane
Ask what a Dutch family does on the evening of 5 December and you will hear two words: surprise and gedicht. A surprise is a gift in disguise. A gedicht is the poem that comes with it.
What the national inventory says
The Dutch Intangible Heritage inventory entry for the Sinterklaas feast names the evening of 5 December, pakjesavond, as the high point. Presents often come with a Sinterklaas poem, and sometimes they are wrapped as a surprise. The entry says the feast is also kept without small children, often with surprises.
The Sinterklaas season opens, the entry says, with the national arrival of Sint Nicolaas and the Pieten on the first Saturday after 11 November. Once the Sint is in the country, children can put out a shoe in the evening, by the chimney or the heating.
Different views of the feast
The entry does not speak with one voice. It counts the opponents of Zwarte Piet among the community connected to the feast. It also records that the guild safeguarding the tradition wants to stay open to dialogue, in its words “met respect voor andersdenkenden”, with respect for people who think differently, and to try a mediating role in the discussions. The entry is the place to read how the keepers of the tradition describe it. This page does not summarise the debate.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is there a rule for the poem? The inventory entry gives none. Is a surprise a product? The entry describes it as a way of wrapping a present for the evening, not as something sold. We name no maker and no shop.
What we left out
Prices, shop names, and the feast’s earlier history, which we could not source beyond a single encyclopaedia.
Dates in order
- First Saturday after 11 November: the national arrival of Sint Nicolaas and the Pieten, according to the inventory entry.
- 5 December, in the evening: pakjesavond, according to the inventory entry.
Quick answers
When do the Dutch open their Sinterklaas presents? The Dutch Intangible Heritage inventory names the evening of 5 December, pakjesavond, as the high point of the feast.
What is a Sinterklaas surprise? According to the inventory entry, a present wrapped as a surprise, often with a Sinterklaas poem.
When does the Sinterklaas season start? The entry says with the national arrival of Sint Nicolaas and the Pieten on the first Saturday after 11 November.
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Roam first. Shop later.