Lonely Christmas eve

In Sweden, we celebrate Christmas the 24th of December. This is not the case in the Netherlands, so my Christmas eve was a bit odd – I spent it alone in the sofa of Femke’s parents, watching tellie with a cat sleeping in my lap. Femke and her mother went to Church in the evening, while I was supposed to drink whisky with Femke’s father Jelle. But he had caught a horrible cold, so had to go to bed early.
Tomorrow is another day, with the real celebrations here.

Dutch Christmas traditions

The Dutch do things their own way, and so they should. When it comes to Christmas, the main player is Sinterklaas. I have yet to have the honour to meet this white-haired gentleman from Spain, dressed like a bishop but in red.

However, I have met his little helper, Swarte Piet. Actually, I met several of them.

Another thing that makes Christmas special for the Dutch is oliebollen (kind of a round donut), that are sold from colourful street stalls. Here, Femek is enjoying ibne. As you can see, they come with a generous helping of icing sugar.