28 Replies to “Gelukkig Sinterklaasavond”

1. Happy Sinterklaas! I miss pepernoten so much tonight..

2. If you want a laugh, read David Sedaris’s piece on Christmas in Holland.

   Here’s audio of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdpte1W0vk

3. Shimano Di2 cross bike? My how things have changed.

4. Ah, so blackface is okay if it is traditional?

5. Frank

   Good idea kereltje. Have a good one!

6. @DerHoggz

   Ah, so blackface is okay if it is traditional?

   Three things: My modern interpretation, its soot from the chimneys he’s clambering up and down – not blackface; its fucking Europe; and its The Fucking Netherlands. The normal rules of reason don’t apply.

7. @RedRanger

   Shimano Di2 cross bike? My how things have changed.

   Isn’t that funny? The way I built the Kermis precludes me from editing the content (for good reason) without editing the original. Really felt a tinge of WTF when I re-read that.

8. Here in Nova Scotia Canada a local politician of Dutch descent learned a lesson about being in the public eye and found himself apologizing for posting a photo of him with Zwarte Piet at a local celebration of the Dutch tradition.  A tearful Joachim Stroink (owner of an outdoor equipment shop and recently elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for Halifax Chebucto) stated “I do acknowledge that the whole blackface culture, there is no place for that in Nova Scotia, nor in our culture. There was no malicious intent. This is a Dutch tradition I grew up with and never in my deepest heart thought that this would be portrayed in this manner . . .”  Local media reported:  “But Jessica Silversmith, director of the Anti-Discrimination Bureau for Amsterdam, said it’s time for the Netherlands to move on from the tradition.  For many people at least in Amsterdam it’s not acceptable anymore,” she said. “He’s seen as a slave … his role is also a problem.”  Silversmith told CBC’s Maritime Noon that her group heard 240 complaints about Zwarte Piet in 2012.  It’s so strange to see a Dutch immigrant living in Canada and he’s introducing Black Pete while in his former home country we don’t like Black Pete. It’s remarkable,” she said.  Traditions are most of the time never innocent. You have to look behind the tradition.”

   Tradition?  Sensitively to others?  Happy holidays!

9. @Jim Vance

   Here in Nova Scotia Canada a local politician of Dutch descent learned a lesson about being in the public eye and found himself apologizing for posting a photo of him with Zwarte Piet at a local celebration of the Dutch tradition. A tearful Joachim Stroink (owner of an outdoor equipment shop and recently elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for Halifax Chebucto) stated “I do acknowledge that the whole blackface culture, there is no place for that in Nova Scotia, nor in our culture. There was no malicious intent. This is a Dutch tradition I grew up with and never in my deepest heart thought that this would be portrayed in this manner . . .” Local media reported: “But Jessica Silversmith, director of the Anti-Discrimination Bureau for Amsterdam, said it’s time for the Netherlands to move on from the tradition. For many people at least in Amsterdam it’s not acceptable anymore,” she said. “He’s seen as a slave … his role is also a problem.” Silversmith told CBC’s Maritime Noon that her group heard 240 complaints about Zwarte Piet in 2012. It’s so strange to see a Dutch immigrant living in Canada and he’s introducing Black Pete while in his former home country we don’t like Black Pete. It’s remarkable,” she said. Traditions are most of the time never innocent. You have to look behind the tradition.”

   Tradition? Sensitively to others? Happy holidays!

   Don’t get me started on Christmas “traditions” FFS.

10. Tak Frank..Een geweldige December.Drink veel bier na lange koude ritten!

    Hope to meet you sometime at Brandford’s

11. All crazy Dutchie stuff. I am sure drinking is involved.

    Grazinken Sinterklaas, or whatever it is…

12. Where have I seen this before? Ah, I like it!

    Di2 cross bike? I’ll take one! Since Piet might not be bring me one this year I’ll have to settle for something less. How’s this? My right Force shifter broke on my cx bike two weeks ago. I’ve been patiently awaiting a new one, but growing increasingly pissed it hasn’t arrived. I got a call from the LBS today. SRAM has never heard of or seen my broken shifter. Bastards. Plus, they have no Force shifters on hand.

    Thus, they are forced to send me…a pair of RED shifters. Hotfuckingdog!

13. I remember when living in Belgium in the mid 70’s, each year during  the week before Sinterklaasavond the evening TV news would report each night the progress of Sint Nicolaas’ white ship inbound from Spain.

    Then on the day of Sinterklaasavond there would be live TV coverage of the ship arriving and tying up to the pier.  The ship would be crewed by several dozen of Sint Nicholaas’ little Moorish helpers, the zwarte Pietes,  all tossing oranges and candies to the children on the dock.  Later a ramp would be lowered from the side of the ship, and Sint Nicholas wearing a white and yellow embroidered robe and miter hat, would ride his white horse off the ship and to city hall where he would meet the Mayor and get the key to the city.

    Even then I wondered where they got so many black guys to play the zwarte Pietes because they weren’t in black face, and you really didn’t see very many folks of African descent in Belgium or Holland at the time.

    Anyway, I’ll be putting my shoes by the front door tonight.  Gelukkig Sinterklassavond to all!

14. I was just thinking the other day that it would be cool to review some of the older articles in more depth as we’ve all matured a bit (only a bit) since they first came out. It’s the comments on the old stuff that get me – the first couple of pages on the Rules page are a hoot.

    Other religions sweep away the embarrassing early scriptures that don’t fit with current orthodoxy (like those pesky additional Commandments including the one that says “Get over yourself”). We however don’t consign our original non-canonical wanderings to jars in forgotten desert caves – we publish them again so everyone knows how we got here – wherever that is.

15. @Dan_R

    Gesundheit.

    @Ron

    Score.

16. Most of my memories of this activity involve me hiding behind the couch, crying. This would also be a great time to remind Young Frank of  Rule #5.

    The Kermis is a success just for this line alone. Damn that made me laugh. 

    @wiscot

    Don’t get me started on Christmas “traditions” FFS.

    A-Merckx brother. 

17. Gelukkig Sinterklaas! In honor of the day my VMH and I went to the bike shop and got some new gear. We have wanted to go for a while and this pushed it over the edge. We are American but both have Dutch ancestry, so we are getting back to our roots. Cheers

18. I really like this photo. Half the photo is Santa on a horse that appears to be crapping apples with Claus telling the over anxious kids “pick up those crap apples children”. Then on the right side of the photo you have a crazed Moor on a mule scaring children away from Santa and the apple crapping horse. Great! This is now my laptop background for the time being. Gelukkig Sinterklaas

19. Bring on the Kermis I say. I do like from time to time click articles that catch my attenton at the bottom of the pages under the “recent & random articals” banner. There are some chestnuts in there for sure and it would be good to reopen the discussion on such topics.

20. The little kid in the foreground of the title picture is quite clearly scared witless of Santa’s big fcking horse about to kick the shit out of him!

    Happy ssdidjsiyegeflik , forgive my pronunciation

21. Excellent initiative, meneer Frank. Hoedje af. In fact, this particular article was one of the first I read when I stumbled across this hallowed website. Enjoyed it thoroughly then; Nice to see it again.

    Am living in Denmark, as mentioned before – but visited the home country recently, and have stacked up on pepernoten (I’m an addict). I’m really impressed by my Danish in-laws, who have embraced the Sinterklaas tradition wholeheartedly. This year, we’ll celebrate it for the eighth time – with the often slightly sarcastic poems, the ‘sur-pre-suh’ gift wrapping… the works.

    Best wishes for een vrolijk Sinterklaasfeest to all you noble Velominati out there, and your loved ones.

22. @ Frank  Brilliant.  But isn’t “gag gift” a pseudonym for gimp mask?

23. Frank, the NYT Op-Ed pages are taking their cues from you.  The Gray VMH.  The paper of Super Record.

24. Been reading the blog for a while but finally decided to chime in! I’m another dutchie living in the US for about 6 years now. I miss the candy and traditional foods like Gevulde Speculaas, I usually try to stock up on it at Schiphol after a visit, but the black Pete thing to me is outdated. Traditions are customs that slowly evolve and not something to anxiously hold on to, and the tradition of black Pete is simply offensive to many inside and outside the country. It’s no problem to celebrate Sinterklaasavond without Piet!  btw I was hoping to find a rapha jersey in my shoe this morning but nothing!!!!

25. Oh yeah frank, apparently “kapoentje” being a castrated hen had some relation to celibate clergymen like st Nicholas so the word was used as a sort of cuss word :)

26. A “kapoen” is a playful child. And we do say “GelukkigE Sinterklaas “, so gelukkige Sinterklaas to all.

27. How does one go about castrating a hen?  It seems she would lack at least two important requirements.

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