existed long ago . That is apparently the one and only thing scholars agree about . If you have been living in The Netherlands long enough , you probably would have heard about Sinterklaas : the long-bearded man in his red cloak , with a pointy hat and a staff in his hand ? Does it ring a bell ?
On his steamboat from Spain , wind ’ s waving the flags . He rides on his horse , on deck back and forth . His servants are standing , they shouted and laughed : the good ones get prizes , the bad ones get smacked …
Or so the song goes … Basically , a Dutch version of Santa . Sinterklaas is a tradition that has his roots carved centuries deep in history and although it has been a focus point of several controversies lately , this article will serve only to show you some popular theories about the man himself and the tradition that came to be the Dutch very own version of Christmas . So , who the hell is Sinterklaas ? e
Who the hell is SInterklaas ?
Although the man we know as Sinterklaas today may not have existed as we picture him now , there was a saint long ago that may have served as a base model to build up the tradition . Around the year 270 a . C ., a man by the name of Nikolaos was born in a small port of a region called “ Small- Asia ” ( nowadays known as the nation of Turkey ) and became the bishop of Myra , who later passed away on the 6th of December , 340 a . C . Several decades later , the Greek-Catholic church would declare him a saint , finally giving him a name that resembles better with today ’ s Dutch figure : Sint- Nikolaas .
It wasn ’ t until the year 800 a . C , that his first biography was created and served as base for future Sinterklaas versions , being one of these the popular legend collection called : Legenda Aurea ( Golden Legends written by Jacobus de Voragine , approx . 1300 a . C .). The book was used all around Europe and described stories such as having Sint-Nicolaas saving three poor young girls from prostitution by throwing money in sacks through their windows ; this would help them find a suitable marriage arrangement and a better future . From stories like this , it is possible to assume that Sint-Nicolaas started to become the protector of children . From this story in particular , some would even say the origin of the popular chocolademunten ( chocolate coins ) took place from here .
However , the tradition wouldn ’ t take a more concrete form until 1850 when Jan Schenkman , a teacher from Amsterdam , would publish the first edition of an illustrated book called : “ Sint-Nikolaas en zijn Knecht ” ( Sint-Nicolas and his Servant ). This would be as well , the first known mention and appearance of the character we know today now as Zwarte Piet ( Black Pete ): Sinterklaas ’ helper . In this book , Sinterklaas is now pictured as a tall white-bearded man with red robes along with his dark-skinned servants ( back then , without a name ) giving away presents to the children .