HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-12-22, Page 15THE CITIZEN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1987. PAGE 15.
Memories of a boyhood Christmas in Holland
BY ADRIAN VOS
Just as children are in Canada,
the Dutch children go to Sunday
school, until they are considered to
be educated enough in the Bible
stories to understand most of the
sermons of the regular church. The
next winter they all go to the Junior
chatechism classes, usually on a
weekday evening.
The high point of the Sunday
school year is Christmas-day.
There, each age group receives a
little present. The presentation is
made by the supervisor of the
Sunday-school or the Minister. For
the little ones, this used to be an
orange and chocolate milk and a
small story book, usually on a
religious theme. All this was
enhanced by having the occasion in
the church and, to top it all, after
dark. Wow.
In the time I am referring to,
before the last great War, we had
no cars. We walked to church with
our parents, whowere invited to be
in the audience.
One of the Sunday school
teachers told “The” Christmas
story and another one told “A”
Christmas story. Sometimes we
portrayed the story of Bethlehem
as a play. At that time this was
considered pretty daring in our
very conservative Calvinistic
church. For the same reason was
the presence ofa tree in the church,
and in many a home, a very
controversial issue. After all, the
X-mas tree is a heathen symbol.
From the foregoing one can
readily see that in Holland the
Christmas celebration was strictly
a religious festival. There were
differences between the Roman
Catholics and the Protestants, but
these were minor. We, as protes
tants would never see a graven
image, while our Catholic friends
Drainage by-laws
passed
by Morris
council
Several housekeeping items
dominated the final meeting of
Morris Township Council prior to
Christmas, among them the pas
sage of two drainage by-laws.
At the December 14 session,
by-laws were approved authoriz
ing the actual costs of the Grasby
Drain Branch B, as well as
authorizing the actual costs of the
maintenance and repair of munici
pal drains under the drainage
superintendent program.
A third by-law was also passed,
authorizing the final costs and
billing for the Belgrave street
lights maintained and repaired in
1987.
The tile drain loan application of
Larry and Myrtle Badley for Lot 16,
Concession 8, was accepted, sub
ject to the availability of funds.
Council also passed a motion
that the Township of Morris not
take part in the Celebration ‘88
awards program, the federal pro
gram set up to honour outstanding
sports personalities and commun
ity workers in conjunction with the
1988 Olympics.
Council also discussed the new
provincial pay equity legislation,
and directed clerk-treasurer Nancy
Michie to write to the County of
Huron to advise that Morris does
not wish to be included in the
county-wide survey for pay equity,
and to the province, to advise that
the township feels it is exempt from
the legislation, giving reasons for
the exemption.
The final meeting of 1987 for
Morris Township Council will be
held at 1 p.m. on December 30.
celebrated around the Nativity
scene. When we went into the
Catholic church we found the
atmosphereinthere much more
solemn, compared with the white
washed austerity of our place of
worship. The giving of gifts was
only avery minor detail and was
supposed only to symbolized the
Christitf&s-gift given to us in the
person of the Christ child.
All this didn’t mean that Dutch
children don’t get a festival
comparable with Christmas in the
English speaking world. No, but
that was done on a completely
separate occasion, the Sinterklaas
festival.
The legend has it that bishop
Nicolas of the Bishopric of Myra in
Asia Minor, did secretly all kinds of
good deeds. When it was cold, he
sneaked out at night from his
palace and distributed firewood
and food to the needy. He was
found out as the dogooder only
after his death. To commemorate
this saintly man, whose name is on
the sixth of December, parents
give their children gifts on the even
of this day. Soon Saint Nicholas day
became Sinterklaas day. For some
unknown reason, the children are
told that the Good Holy Man
resides now in Spain, from whence
he comes forth on the eve of his
name day to distribute gifts to the
children. In Spain he acquired a
blackamoor servant by the name of
Peter who carries the sack with
In the holiday tradition,
may the old, but ever new
spirit of Yuletide bless
you and yours with love.
presents. Sowhen the Saint makes
his appreance on Sinterklaas eve,
the whole family is ready to receive
him. The children have made
rhymes to recite to him. He is
all-knowing and fibbing that you
have been a good kid, when in
reality you were not, won’t do any
good. If one is particularly bad,
there is always the chance that
Black Peter sticks you in the empty
gift sack. If that happens one must
spend a whole year in Spain. If the
progress has been satisfactory he
will bringyou back the next year on
Christmas eve. I have never lost
one of my friend for a whole year,
but once I was in the sack and
outside already for doubting the
existence of the Holy Man.
Jt is of course very clear that he
can’t be in every house for a visit all
in one evening, so on many
occasions he just sends Peter or
another servant. But they never
show their faces when Sinterklaas
isn’t there. One may sit at peace at
the table, reading or playing a
game. Unnoticed an older brother
or an uncle may slip out and
minutes later there is a commotion
at the door. It opens a crack and
handfuls of pepper cookies and
other goodies are thrown usually
rather violently into the room.
Mother screams: ‘‘Watch out for
the glasses, you nut” and as
suddenly as he was there, he is
gone. A minute later big brother
comes in to say how much he
Lynn. Annabelle. Brian. Terry.
Debbie and Keith
Brussels Winghant
regrets it that he was just away that
one minute. Someone is bound to
look outside the door and Io and
behond, mothers wash tub is there,
full of presents. As they are one by
one unwrapped, each child and
adult finds a poem with the gift
and, ohboy, could these poems tell
some truths. Some of the teenagers
could easily run away blushing, for
some of the names in those rhymes
were often close to the truth.
In the time I am telling about, the
good Sint’ came always by steam
ships, and many a song we sang
welcoming him to the shores of
Holland. His horse, for he rode a
white horse, pranced on deck and
all flags and vanes on the ship were
run out. He rode the roofs on his
white horse and never broke a tile.
Presents were dumped into the
chimney, butwe never doubted the
confusion of personal presenta
tion, Black Peter’s leaving it on the
doorstep or the Sint dropping it
down the chimney.
In spite of him being a Bishop, it
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si-
Lots of laughter, lots of cheer, that’s our wish for
Christmas and New Yeartoall our good friends and
patrons. We enjoyed serving you and look forward
to seeing you soon.
Bev EUiott and Marilyn Forbes
“Christmas and
Country”
Blyth
We’reclosing for thewinteron January 9th.
See you in the spring!
Bright
Christmas to All!
It's o pleasure
doinq business with you.
Lynn Hoy
Enterprises
'z ■ ' ws* * W
4'/ #/' * V'.'f. MV
*7 w*tv-* y W
was strictly a secular festival,
completely removed from Christ
mas.
The combination of the Sinter
klaas festival and Christmas came
about when there occurred a
mixture of Dutch and English
culture in what is now New-York
and New England. Father Christ
mas with his silly hat and jolly face
got mixed up with the very
dignified Saint Nicholas with his
bishop’s miter. A nursery rhyme
put him all mixed up at the North
pole and his white horse was
exchanged for reindeer. His name
was changed to Santa-Claus and
this is the way we know him here.
It is a pity, in a way, for his
jocular, and often drunken beha
viour takes away from the real
meaning of Christmas to such an
extent that many don’t even know
the meaning of Christmas any
more. The meaning being that with
all our faults and shortcomings
God loves us enough to let us foster
his only child.
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
S