sinterklaas & avent reading 10.

Well, yesterday was Sinterklaas, the Dutch holiday that resembles our Christmas traditions, although a little different...I totally forgot about it until almost dinner time, but when I remembered, I wanted to do a little celebrating.  Since I used to live in Holland, my family celebrated Sinterklaas and Christmas.  I think I liked Sinterklaas better, maybe because it was a "new" tradition, maybe because it was Dutch and I always wanted to feel more Dutch.  You can look it all up in Wikipedia, but here are some of the traditions I remember/we practiced in Holland:

• There was always a huge festival [plural, actually] of Sinterklaas arriving from Spain on a big boat.  I remember my dad's workplace having such celebrations for the the kids of the employees.  Awesome!
• Sinterklaas would get from house to house on a white horse that was able to walk on rooftops...
• His helpers [Zwarte Pieten] would be the ones who would go down the chimney. Zwarte Pieten means "Black Petes"...not very PC, but it's Dutch, what can I say??  Apparently, they are black from going down all the chimneys, but there is variation on this tradition...
• You leave a shoe out by the fireplace and receive gifts overnight, and often sing songs as you do so...the only one I really remember was one that said something about Black Pete being stealth - that you could hear him, but you never see him...ninja-like ;)
• Everyone gets the first letter of their first name in chocolate [usually very big, very delicious letters of chocolatey goodness]
• You get a poem about you
• You get papiernoten [small cookie "disks" of gingery goodness] and other delicious snacks
• You get a few presents [I usually got a CD or book from Mom and Dad :) ]

I think the argument is that Santa Claus originated from the Dutch colonies that settled in America, and so my arguments for not celebrating Santa would hold here, too.  However, since this tradition was so dear to me during my time in Holland, I want to try to incorporate it somehow into our Advent celebrations.  So, last night, after I realized what day it was, I ran to the store, picked up some hot chocolate and ginger cookies, cut out some wooden shoes and wrote poems for J, Marieke and Ryan.  It was kind of lame, but fun just the same, and I surprised everyone with a mini Sinterklaas celebration when I went to campus to drop off dinner :)  I wrote poems that incorporated the letters of their names, and reasons why I am grateful for each of them.  I think this might be tradition in our family, and would have nothing to do with a man on a horse.  But I think anticipation is fun for kids, and so I think it would be fun to have a mini celebration in the middle of Advent - just an extra night of special snacks [homemade chocolate letters?!?] and cute poems to accompany our advent reading...or something like that.  We shall see :)  Anyway, just thought I'd give you that little tidbit for what is going on across the ocean right now, and here is the good stuff:

Matthew 1:18-25
The angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a dream.

 

Now the birth of  Jesus Christ  took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been betrothed  to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child  from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling  to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold,  an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and  you shall call his name Jesus,  for he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place  to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name  Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Happy Tuesday!  Continue to pray for J as he studies :)  Much love to all.