At the risk of being accused of “jumping the gun” on Christmas, I offer you this useful infographic (thanks to Michelle Henry for the tip). I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa.
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oh my god,
they will never learn
Ok…it’s pretty complicated.
But Dutch Sinterklaas has NOTHING to do with father Christmas (although: the pronunciation of Sinterklaas and Santa Claus comes is striking)
I didn’t dive enough into the subject, but the early Dutch settlers of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all the Hudson Valley up to Albany (Beverwijck in those days) for sure did celebrate Sinterklaas or Sint Nicolaas. But they did it on December 5th: Saint Nicholas-night. Giving presents to each other including sharp, humourous and critical poems about the recipients! I don’t what the early Dutch ( and with them the Flemish, Walloons, Germans, Danish and other servants of the Dutch Westindian Company) celebrated at Chrismas. Surely something. but I doubt that there will have been a Father Christmas those days.
Don’t know about the puritans in Boston and environment. It will definitely be well documented.
But again, to go short: Sinterklaas in the Netherlands has NOTHING to do with de KERSTMAN (Father Christmas) walks the snow-covered roofs (like Sinterklaas with his white horse)
Anyway: enjoy (not only the presents) but mainly the togetherness of the family.
Willem
ah…a very nice reading about the early New Amsterdam days can be done with Russel Shorto’s “Nieuw Amsterdam”