Sinterklaas; no traffic jams this morning
Wow – on drive to work – I always listen to the radio…. and they will announce the traffic jams….
Well; there was only 1 traffic jam at 8 o’clock of 3km……(and because of an accident).
On a normal weekday – especially in the winter period – it is almost “normal” to have between the 200-300km of traffic jam in Holland….
This probably means there is something going on in Holland uh..?
YESSSSSS!!!!
The rest of the world has Santa Claus – but we have SINTERKLAAS….. (Saint Nicholas).
His birthday is tomorrow, but most people will get gifts from him this evening…!!
(…in the past you would get gifts the next morning in your shoe…)
And why is this interesting for the rest of the world…???
Because the whole world will celebrate a festivity around Sinterklaas……. = yes – Santa Claus his name comes from our Sinterklaas !!
Quoted from WikiPedia;
Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It is often alleged that, during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam) which had been swapped by the Dutch for other territories, reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas to be a symbol of the city’s non-English past.[1] The name Santa Claus is derived from older Dutch Sinte Klaas.
A bit of controversy around this festivity is Zwarte Piet; Black Pete – the helper of Sinterklaas…..
People are talking about making him “colored Pete”…..uh… WHAT…??
Well; that is a whole discussion on his own = but I am AGAINST…..!! 
Happy Sinterklaas !!
Seems that at least something Dutch from the time the first Americans were fighting for their independence survived, although somewhat changed. I don’t think many people know this, just as the role the Dutch played to help the US to gain their independence at that time has been largely forgotten, both by Americans and the Dutch…
I can see the similarity between your and my Saint Nicholas