emmasen 104

6Dec08

Yesterday, 5-Dec, Dutch people celebrated Sintaklaas (Santa Claus). To them, the children I mean, Sintaklaas comes from Spain every year, bringing presents for them, and assisted by his assistants, Zwarte Pete (Black Pete). Christmas is still celebrated on 25Dec, but Sintaklaas on 5Dec. TV programmes, shopping centres, sweets unique to Sintaklaas is all over the place. During a lecture yesterday, two PhD students who are helping us to navigate our dissertation topics, bought these sweets:

- papenoten (small round brown cookies flavoured with spice)

- speculaas (medium size brown cookies flavoured with spice and almond, and at times, the cake form has almond paste)

- sugared gum jellies

- sweets in designs of Sintaklaas (pink one in the picture), Zwarte Pete (orange), presents (pink), bags containing papenoten and other sweets (white) and hearts.

- 'chocolade' in foil designs of a mouse and frog (it's traditional, and nowadays, people does not know the significance of the mouse and frog designs)