The Netherlands shut down for Christmas at the end of November. I was curious about how and why their traditions differ so much from the ones with which I’m familiar, so I did a little research.

How Dutch Christmas is different from other Christmas celebrations

Sinterklass

According to Lorri Brown, in the Netherlands, Christmas celebrations start the last Saturday of November, “when Saint Nicholas arrives via steam ship from Spain.”

Brown goes on to say that since Holland was a country of sailors, they have mixed ideology, folklore, religion and legend into quite an original and mixed bag very specific to the Dutch. This includes making Saint Nicholas the patron saint of sailors!

The Sinterklass or Santa Claus tradition, when Santa hands out the gifts, is still stronger than the tradition of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to The Holland Ring. It falls on 6 December.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas Eve and Day are family-oriented. There are no gifts, and it is less commercial than in other countries, although commercialism does seem to be seeping in.

On Christmas Eve many people go to a late-night church service; others go on Christmas Day and then eat an early dinner.

For Christmas Day breakfast, the Dutch treat themselves to traditional pastries such as kerstsol, a fruit and almond paste bread, krentebolletjes, currant buns and roomboter, or butter, as well as some savory dishes such as smoked salmon, mussels and pâté. The real feast is usually later in the day.

Christmas Day feasts differ from family to family. Some families eat a lavish Christmas meal including fare they don’t ordinarily eat. According to Karin Engelbrecht, these meals can include a wide variety of gourmet fare, such as “game meats, roast pork, fondues or gourmetten (a style of eating that involves a grill on the table so that everyone can cook bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables themselves).” Engelbrecht says turkey is not part of the traditional Dutch Christmas feast.

Made from an 18th-century mold. Photo courtesy of St. Nicholas center.

Sweets include boiled chestnuts served with butter and salt; kerstkrans, or Christmas wreath cookies; bankestaf, or pastry Yule logs filled with marzipan; jan hagel, a flaky sugar cookie; speculaas, or spice cookies; marzipan; and advocaat, the Dutch version of eggnog spiked with brandy.

The day after Christmas, referred to as “Second Christmas Day”, is also a family holiday in the Netherlands. The family visits other family members, goes for a snowy walk or ice skating, depending on the weather, and eats the leftovers from the day before.

Good sources for Dutch Christmas recipes

The best site I found is Go Dutch, which includes the Dutch names, along with good translations of most all the recipes mentioned above, as well other traditional Dutch recipes. All recipes list both European and American conversions.

That’s My Home also lists an interesting speculaas recipe.

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