At its core, Christmas commemorates Christ’s birth, but holiday traditions vary around the globe based on a family’s religious affiliation and ethnic background. In Europe, here are 25 surprising facts about Christmas in the Netherlands.
After living in the Netherlands for nearly four years, I moved back to the US. My American friends were often confused about the European nation about half the size of Maine. So, here is a quick overview:
- The Netherlands has a long, North Sea coastline. It shares an eastern border with Germany and a southern border with Belgium.
- The country is often called Holland after two of its more populated provinces. But calling the entire country “Holland” is like calling the United States “New York” or “California” — and this Midwestern girl says, “Just don’t!”
- It is famous for tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, Heineken beer, and Gouda cheese.
- The people of the Netherlands are Dutch. Don’t confuse them with the Danish who are from Denmark.
Discover how the Dutch make the holiday season special with these 25 surprising facts about Christmas in the Netherlands.
How Do You Celebrate Christmas?
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The Dutch Have Separate Holidays for Gift Giving and Christmas
This is listed as the top of my article about Christmas in the Netherlands. Why? Because I get a shocking amount of nasty comments and hate e-mails from Dutch folks who are upset to see Sinterklaas, the Dutch inspiration for Santa Claus, appearing in a post about Christmas.
Yes, I know that there are two separate holidays in the Netherlands. It’s one of the things I love most about your holiday traditions! (Okay, I also really love Carnaval.) But my readers are mostly Americans. And here in the US, you’ll see holiday decorations show up in stores as early as July and halls decked the second the last trick-or-treater leaves on Halloween. They would be confused if I left out the whole gift-giving holiday a few weeks earlier in December.
1. Pakjesavond is for Presents (Not Christmas Eve)
One of my favorite Dutch holiday traditions is that there are separate holidays for gift giving and Christmas. Well-behaved children receive presents from Sinterklaas on December 5th, Pakjesavond, instead of Christmas Eve. Pakjesavond literally means “presents evening.” (And similar to Christmas in the United States, naughty children are warned that they might get a lump of coal instead.)
2. Sinterklaas First, Then Christmas
The Dutch separate Sinterklaas and gift giving from Christmas. The general rule is Sinterklaas first, then Christmas via two distinct and separate holiday celebrations.
3. No Christmas Trees Until After Sinterklaas
While many Americans will put up Christmas trees around Thanksgiving (or earlier), Christmas trees aren’t put up in the Netherlands until after Sinterklaas. So don’t expect to see decked halls until December 7th.
Sage Advice: Here’s how to experience a bit of Christmas in the Netherlands right here in the United States.
Who is Sinterklaas?
4. Sinterklaas Instead of Santa
Instead of Santa Claus, the Dutch have Sinterklaas. Also known as Saint Nicholas (or Sint Nicolaas in Dutch), this Christian saint is revered as the patron saint of children and sailors.
But Sinterklaas is also the patron saint of prostitutes, an interesting wrinkle in a nation where prostitution has been legal for several decades. The connection between Saint Nicholas and prostitutes is why foil-wrapped chocolate coins are a common treat for children from Sinterklaas. (See fact #12 for more about chocolate coins.)
5. Sinterklaas Arrives by Boat
While most Europeans begin celebrating Christmas on December 1st, the Dutch begin the first Saturday after November 11th when Sinterklaas arrives on a boat from Spain, often docking in a port city.
6. Sinterklaas Dresses Like a Catholic Bishop
While Sinterklaas and Santa Claus share white hair and a long beard, Sinterklaas dresses like a Catholic bishop in long red robes and a mitre hat.
7. Sinterklaas Rides a Horse
Instead of a sleigh pulled by a team of reindeer led by Rudolph, Sinterklaas rides a white horse named Ozosnel.
8. Elves Don't Help Sinterklaas
Rather than elves, Sinterklaas has helpers called Zwarte Piet (Black Peter). They dress in 16th-century clothes featuring a large, ruffled collar.
9. Zwarte Piet is Controversial
Traditionally, Zwarte Piet is black because he’s of North African descent. Some will say that his face is black from climbing down chimneys to deliver presents as Sinterklaas stops on rooftops at night. Either way, the idea of Zwarte Piet has been called racist by some, so many Zwarte Piet have evolved from full blackface to a few soot marks.
10. Shoes Instead of Stockings
Rather than hanging stockings, well-behaved children eagerly leave their shoes out for Sinterklaas to fill. They often leave carrots, hay, or sugar cubes for Sinterklaas’ horse along with a poem or letter for him.
11. A Feast Day Fit for a Saint
December 6th, Sinterklaas’ Feast Day, is actually the day he died and not his birthday.
Holiday Treats in the Netherlands
12. The Story Behind Chocolate Coins
Zwarte Piet carries a bag filled with goodies, usually chocolate coins and mandarin oranges. The sack of gifts, in particular the foil-wrapped chocolate coins, are symbolic of the assistance Saint Nicholas gave a poor father back in the 3rd century. The father didn’t have a dowry for his three daughters, a necessity for marriage in Asia Minor at the time. To save the young women from the alternative — a life of prostitution — Sinterklaas dropped three sacks of gold coins down the chimney.
13. An Alphabet of Chocolate
Nearly everyone receives a large chocolate letter of their first initial in their wooden shoes from Sinterklaas.
14. Magnificent Marzipan
Chocolate and pastry shop windows are full of marzipan delights at Christmastime, shaping the almond paste into everything from fruits to animals.
15. Tasty Tree Trimmings
Most Dutch people make or purchase kerstkransjes, wreath-shaped almond cookies tied with a ribbon that are hung on the Christmas tree. As you might expect, these usually quickly disappear soon after the tree is trimmed with only the ribbons remaining.
16. A Local Take on Spiked Eggnog
A thick, brandy-spiked variation of eggnog called advocaat is often served over the holidays.
Related Article: Tasty Dutch Treats You MUST Try in the Netherlands
Christmastime in the Netherlands
17. Celebrate Twice!
The 25th and 26th of December are public holidays in the Netherlands, often spent as family get-togethers playing games and enjoying holiday feasts. With gifts out of the way earlier in the month, this is typically a time for family gatherings. Many families spend the time playing games together and enjoying holiday feasts.
The second day of Christmas in the Netherlands is Saint Stephen’s Day. Some Dutch families will also attend church on December 26th to honor him, the first Christian martyr known for his service to the poor and needy.
Sage Advice: To wish someone Merry Christmas in Dutch, say Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
18. The Dutch Version of Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer
If you think Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer is quirky, wait until you hear the Dutch Christmas song about a boy whose lost rabbit ends up as the Christmas dinner!”
19. Focus on Family
Because children have already received presents from Sinterklaas earlier in the month, Christmas is typically celebrated by spending time with family.
20. And Amazing Food
Each of the two days of Christmas is usually celebrated with lots of food. Whether the main dish is fish, seafood, poultry, or pork — more on all of that in a minute — it is typically accompanied by vegetable side dishes.
The meal also includes rich breads like oliebollen, a type of doughnut hole-like bread with currents, raisins, or apple bits that’s often dusted with powdered sugar for an extra festive touch. Another popular Christmas dish is stollen a bread-like cake filled with marzipan and bits of fruit.
21. Embracing the Nation's Coastline
As a country of sailors with a long coastline, fish is often featured on Christmas including mussels, sea shrimp, salmon, and eel.
22. Or Other Traditions
But the Christmas meal can also feature roast goose, venison, or pork. It’s also common to serve rabbit (hopefully not the one being searched for in #18) or a rollade (thin slices of beef, pork, or chicken that are stuffed, rolled, and roasted).
23. Toot Your Own Horn
In rural eastern areas of the country, handmade horns are carved out of birch or elder saplings. These are often blown to celebrate Advent and Christ’s birth.
24. When It's Over
Dutch families typically take down their beautiful holiday decorations on January 6th with the Feast of the Epiphany.
25. Other Places that Celebrate Christmas Like the Dutch
Beyond the Netherlands, Sinterklaas is also celebrated in Dutch territories like Aruba.
From Sinterklaas to unique treats, the years I lived in the Netherlands taught me that their holiday season is truly like no other.
Have You Celebrated Christmas in the Netherlands?
Does your family honor one of these Dutch traditions? What’s your favorite part of the holidays? Share your experiences in the comments section below!
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My mother is Dutch which makes me half Dutch. We have always celebrated both Sinterklaas on Dec 5th and Christmas. I hadn’t heard the pharse Pakjesavond for Sinterklaas but it makes total sense. This article makes me excited to celebrate again this year.
My daughter’s husband is half English and half Dutch. When they have kids one day, I hope they celebrate both holidays as well!
Christmas in the Netherlands looks so magical! Loved learning all these fun facts and the food looks delicious.
It is such a fun time! And, as they say in Dutch, the food is LEKKER!
Fact #5 is really interesting! Reminds me of Christmas back home in the Philippines, where we kick off festivities with “Simbang Gabi,” a series of dawn Masses starting December 16th. The diversity in holiday customs worldwide is so captivating!
How fascinating! It’s always interesting to learn how a single holiday is celebrated around the world.
Just a few things:
Sinterklaas isn’t the “Dutch version of Santa Claus”, he was the original Santa Claus. Hence his bishop clothing but he wasn’t a Catholic, he was Greek Orthodox which isn’t the same as Catholicism. Santa Claus is the Anglacised name for him, taken to the United States and to Britain for use at Christmas, which de Sint has nothing to do with. The Sinterklaasavond festivals have been bastardised into a version of Christmas which revolves around excessive spending, eating and drinking. The “Secret Santa” tradition is also a Dutch tradition from Sinterklaasavond. Having all this on 25th December in America and Britain means fat profits for companies cashing in on the total consumer fest (which doesn’t take place in the Netherlands as Sinterklaas has come and gone along with his now banned “Blackface” Piets. Christmas in the Netherlands is a time to chill, for niksen, and spending time with family and friends. Whereas in Britain particularly with its fear of not spending enough and not being able to achieve a “perfect” Christmas, it’s all about excess, buying more food than you will need for a month even though the stores only close for one day (and don’t close at all in multi cultural areas). Christmas in Britain, particularly in less wealthy households is chaotic, underwhelming and disappointing and combined with too much alcohol is often the trigger for arguments and a spike in police call outs for domestic violence.
I prefer the Dutch traditions and as my birthday falls on Sinterklaasavond it’s one of my favourite times to go back there to visit family and friends. Enjoy the Sinterklaas parade following his arrival by boat then eat some nice food. Christmas goes on for two days, 25th and 26th, and it’s very relaxed and a time to be with loved ones, no pressure. Dinner is anything really, typically game like a deer leg, hare etc, some now have turkey.
Thanks for sharing! I prefer the Dutch traditions, too, and am so grateful that my family long ago stopped buying gifts for the adults. And each year that the kids get older, we take another step away from all of the commercialized over-consumption that goes with Christmas here in the US and double-down on just enjoying our time together, savoring festive seasonal foods, being grateful for what we have, and helping folks in our community that are less fortunate. To me, that is the REAL meaning of the season. <3
Dear Sage,
since I am a Dutchman myself, I was curious about what was described here. Everything is so beautifully described here. it’s exactly as it says. of course, there are more traditions, but you can’t put everything here. keep up the good work.
Hi Mark! Some of my favorite holiday memories are from my years living in your beautiful country. Thanks for stopping by!
Christmas in the Netherlands seems to be an amazing experience! So many exciting facts about their tradition. I haven’t heard before about Pakjesavond.
I sooooo love that there are separate holidays for gifts and Christmas!
I am a senior ( 83 ) and I remember as a child watching my dad light individual small candles among decorations on the Christmas tree, Imagine real burning candles atop the branches of the tree!!!
Of course he had a bucket of water nearby just in case. After a few minutes of being in awe of the tree and the lit candles, he extinguished the candles one by one util the next night.
That must have been such a gorgeous sight!
It’s sad to read that we are always linked with the wooden shoes as most of the people in Holland don’t own them let alone wear or uses them. Therefor to claim that we all use the wooden shoe is incorrect. Most of us use our regular shoes 😉
I love finding out about differences and similarities across the world when it comes to Christmas and other key holidays. I’m particularly surprised how much time separates the gift giving from Sinterklaas and Christmas day! I’ve come across places where the gifts are exchanged on the 24th but not in early December! I did read about the Zwarte Piet controversy a few years ago though when one of my best school friends and her family moved to The Netherlands and it came up in conversation. The horn blowing thing sounds like a looooud aspect to Christmas!
The separation of gift giving and Christmas is my favorite thing about how the Dutch celebrate the holidays!
This is great! It’s so interesting seeing how other countries celebrate Christmas. I loved learning all about Sinterklaas!
I like the idea of Christmas being separated from the gift-giving, but find the story about the rabbit much more disturbing than Grandma and a reindeer. I know a friend whose dad served his pet rabbit for dinner.
Yeah, the over-commercialization of Christmas is a real turnoff for me. But rabbit is probably even more not my thing…
Ahahaha. I love learning about other countries’ holiday traditions. I wonder which American traditions seem strange to everyone else.
Probably that we feel the need to celebrate Christmas for more than two months, from the second the last kid knocks on our door trick-or-treating until at least New Year’s Day. LOL!
Thank you for this information. Now I understand why my Dutch mother in-law always gives us large chocolate alphabets , gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, peppermint coins and gingerbread at Christmas. I love it! And we love her!!
My kids LOVE gold-wrapped chocolate coins, too! Happy holidays!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Sage. So interesting the way different cultures celebrate what is essentially a winter solstice holiday wrapped in a (very loose) Christian garment. Being an Aussie the giving of gifts on Christmas Eve in North America was always strange to me. When did Santa (or Father Christmas as we call him) have time to sneak down the chimney? Must admit my first thought about the black Piets was that it was pretty racist and that maybe they were originally slaves. I’ve not had the pleasure of celebrating Christmas in the Netherlands (though one of my best friends lives there) but it does sound lovely.
What’s your favorite Australian Christmas tradition?
I can’t say this is an Aussie tradition. I think it was just my family. Every Christmas morning my siblings and I would wake early to find each of us had a pillow case stuffed with gifts at the end of our beds. A pillow case full! Then we’d all pile onto mum and dad’s bed and take turns opening them one by one. So much fun. Another tradition (and this is more universal – also happens/happened (?) in England) is money (the small silver coins – threepences and sixpences) would be cooked into the Christmas pudding so eating dessert had an extra thrill to it to see who got the most money. So much fun!
Awwwwww, I love it! Those sound like such special memories! <3
Is it weird that I just tried to sing “young dutch boy ate his bunny for christmas dinner…despite all his searchin christmas eve…” to the tune of Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer??
Love that the Dutch celebrate St. Nicholas Day! Though I often forget that parts of Europe does it on the 5th rather than the 6th which is strange to me. Either way, he is the start of Christmas for me and my Cuban family as well.
Also, I love the whole story of the chocolate and the coins but you sold me at Marzipan! I am secretly addicted to that stuff which says a lot since I love CHOCOLATE!
Two words: marzipan chocolate! Seriously. Forget that whole chocolate + peanut butter silliness!
Always super interesting to hear how different cultures celebrate Christmas
Nice read. However, most of the Sinterklaas ‘facts’ are not really true, mainly how heavily you linked Sinterklaas with Christmas – when they’re not that heavily linked or even connected. Children ‘grow’ with the tradition. Perhaps they were how you described where you lived. But, not in Netherlands as a whole. A quick read through Wikipedia explains more in-depth what Sinterklaas really means in the Netherlands: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comment. Because my readers are 75% Americans, I have linked Sinterklaas and Christmas in one article to help illustrate that the Dutch have completely separate holidays for gift giving (Sinterklaas and Pakjesavond) and Christmas. In fact, it’s one of the things I loved most about the four Christmases I celebrated in Maastricht! And, that’s why the article is front loaded with statements like “The Dutch have separate holidays for gift giving and Christmas” and facts 1, 2, and 3. Happy holidays!
I love learning about different traditions and cultures! My favourite here is the fact that St Nicholas arrives by boat!
This was such a lovely read! I must admit I didn’t know about many of these facts. I learned so many new things from this article.
The culture and traditions are almost the same in Belgium too. It’s so nice to read about this unexplicable culture that Europeans have. In my homeland we don’t have St. Nicholas in Decamber only Christmas. It’s really interesting. thanks for sharing!
Are you from Belgium? Or a different nation?
This is such a cool post! Didn’t know a lot of these facts. Some of them are so unusual.
I love to see the different ways that people celebrate the same holiday in such different ways. I’d love to travel during the holidays but my children seem to think that’s the one time of the year that we need to be at home 🙂
I can understand your kids’ perspectives. The key reason I know about Christmas in the Netherlands is that we lived there for three Christmases. Otherwise, I’m not sure I’d want to be away from home for the holidays.
Aaaw, leaving a carrot for Sinterklaas’ horse, so cute! 🙂 Oh and those mouthwatering marzipan delights – I love the Netherlands! 😀
Marzipan is sooooo amazing! (And somewhat difficult to find in the US…)
I love the Dutch culture and lifestyle. This post took me back to my sweet little time spent in Amsterdam and its neighborhood. Great article
So interesting! My family celebrated St Nicholas Day when I was young, we would get gold chocolate coins in our shoe. Odd because we are not Dutch.
I have not visited The Netherlands yet, however celebrating Christmas since November sounds like my type of country ?
What a fun post. I learned so much. I always received marzipan for Christmas when I was a child. My mom is German.
Isn’t it awesome! Besides frites (French fries) it’s one of the things I miss most from living over there that I can’t really find here in the US. 🙂
If you have a World Market Cost Plus where you live, they stock marzipan during Christmas time!
We do have those here! I’ll be sure to check it out. Thanks for the tip! Happy holidays!
Don’t say “french” fries :/ Fries are actually typically from Belgium, sold in “Frituren”. Both the french and the dutch took it over later.