Yesterday,
the Dutch Community gathered at the PDO Club beach to welcome someone special.
He was
expected to arrive in a steamboat all the way from Spain.
Last year,
he had arrived on a camel because the zwarte piets or ‘black peters’ his
naughty assistants, had left him in the desert. The children who sang songs on
the beach with their teacher, Juf Hanneke, hoped that this year he would arrive
on the steam boat. They waited in excitement clutching their piet hats
as they scanned the horizon for a sign of the steamboat.
And soon
there he was!
Sinterklass,
the Dutch version of Santa Claus, was waving at them along with the zwarte
piets. The piets had black faces because they were always going up
and down the chimneys delivering presents and sweets to children.
Sinterklass is the patron saint of children, sailors, and the city of
Amsterdam. It is said that Sinterklass originally came from Turkey as Saint
Nicolaus, an honourable bishop who was kind to children. He is also known as De
Goed Heilig Man – the Good Holy Man. He is the man with the long white
beard in a long white robe and red coat and a bishop’s hat. He is loved by
children and adults too.
Accompanied
by feisty boats with water cannons, he arrived in Oman yesterday to greet children
who gleefully welcomed him. The zwarte piets followed him everywhere
throwing away fistfuls of pepernoten – little spiced biscuits and candies. The
children rushed to collect them.
As soon as
he stepped onto the beach, a gust of wind blew droplets of rain.
The children
exclaimed, “Sinterklass has brought Dutch weather with him!”
(The Dutch Community in Oman organises this
wonderful event every year to keep the Sinterklass tradition alive for the sake
of little children who believe in this Good Holy Man.)
