Pakjesavond: A lesson in the meaning of Christmas

One of the most fascinating things to me so far has been observing the difference between the primary holiday celebration in the US and the primary holiday celebration in NL: Sinterklaas.

I'm going to assume that most readers are familiar with the American Christmas holiday, celebrated on the 25th of December, presided over by Santa Claus and requiring the spending of vast amounts of money on things that are not needed and often little appreciated, in order to be considered a "good Christmas." This in a country where nearly 80% of the population self-identifies as some form of Christian. So I'll just talk about the Dutch celebration, making note that only half of the Dutch population self-identifies as Christian.

Sinterklaas arrives in NL by steamboat (Sinterklaas lives in Spain), the third week of November. Sinterklaas, while having like Santa Claus a semi-superhuman current physical embodiment for the entertainment of small children, is an actual historical figure, Saint Nicholas--a Catholic bishop who died in the middle of the fourth century. The Saint was the Mother Teresa figure of his time, having spent enormous amounts of time and energy helping the poor, primarily in Turkey. De Goedheiligman "the good holy man," as he's sometimes called in Dutch, dresses in red bishop's robes and a pointed bishop's hat.

After a couple of weeks of visiting children and making various appearances, Sinterklaas's festivities culminate on the 5 December (the eve of the death day of Saint Nicholas). These celebrations have of course changed over time. And while a core difference between Christmas and Sinterklaas (the Dutch celebrate both) is that Sinterklaas's holiday makes no claim of connection to the birth of Christ, the current iteration of this holiday honors with true meaning the rest of what Christmas ought to be. I'll leave the discussion of whether Christmas really honors the birth of Christ to another forum for debate. It's not the point of this blog.

What did inspire this blog is an article in the local paper today, Sigaretten van papier mache, "Paper mache cigarettes." I'll translate part of it for you:

"The [tradition of the] surprise gift became popular in 1945. Even children who no longer believed in the Good Holy Man kept honoring Sinterklaas in the 50s and 60s. They no longer just got presents, but they began now to give them to their parents, brothers and sisters. Pakjesavond (Presents Evening) became something for the whole family. And due to the changed relationships within the family, the way Sinterklaas evening was celebrated also changed.

"For example, before pakjesavond names began to be exchanged. It wasn't about how expensive the gifts were, but about how much thought went into them. Mother would rather get from her son a self-knitted sock with holes in it than silk hose. The emotional worth became of primary importance.

"Likewise, the Father changed from the Boss of the family to someone with whom you can make little jokes. So it became possible to tease him a little: for example giving him a huge paper-mache cigarette if he can't stop smoking. His inability to stop smoking would be highlighted in an accompanying poem. And if his beloved daughter had a few too many admirers, then father might craft in his workshop a handful of broken hearts for her.

"This new openness and egalitarianism between parents and their children is the cause for the Sinterklaas surprise gift tradition becoming so popular."

I don't know whether the changes within the Dutch family caused or resulted from traditions such as these, but this whole mindset, and the warm atmosphere of a close family engaging in such a ritual, with the time and effort each has put into preparing for the evening, must be acknowledged as a far more profound way to honor the true spirit of Christmas than maxing out a credit card.