Page 14 - ARUBA TODAY

A14 LOCAL
Tuesday 5 december 2017
The Story of Sinterklaas

ORANJESTAD - Within the jn, is also enjoyed.
Dutch Kingdom, Aruba
is part of it, we celebrate Waving a Carrot
‘pakjesavond’ tonight, Dutch children believe that
which means night of pres- Sinterklaas writes down
ents for children. The saint whether they’ve been
responsible for this is called naughty or nice in his red
St. Nicolas or in Dutch: Sin- book. Sinterklaas rides a
terklaas. He is the patron white horse, and the chil-
saint of children; Sinterk- dren put carrots in their
laas (the name a contrac- shoes for his horse, hoping
tion of SintNikolaas) is a St. Nicholas will exchange
legendary Christmas figure. them for presents if they
Although similar to Santa were good.
Claus in that he is an older
man with a full, white beard Sinterklaas Vs. Santa
who wears red, Sinterklaas It is said that Sinterklaas
is a more serious figure, was the precursor of Santa
donning a bishop’s head- Claus. Historians believe
dress and carrying a long, that Dutch and German
curled shepherd’s staff. settlers took the tradition
with them to America.
Although St. Nicholas is al- There, his Catholic garb
ways shown wearing his Greek at the time, but is natured fun of your loved the Dutch indulge in a was gradually transformed
bishop’s attire, the Dutch now part of Turkey). He ones, by way of humorous variety of sweets includ- into the jolly non-sectarian
tend to see him as a kindly spent his life giving away his poetry written by the giver, ing cookies, candies, and red suit with the white fur
old man, rather than as a money to the poor and do- and offering the infamous breads. Traditional reci- trim we are all so familiar
Catholic saint. The result is ing good deeds. He died “surprise,” which is basically pes are speculaas (spiced with. Additionally, his lithe
that Sinterklaas is celebrat- on December 6th and it is a (homemade) gag gift cookies), kruidnoten (mini frame gave way to a well-
ed by Dutch people of all this date that is commemo- that hides another present spiced cookies, also called padded potbelly and his
ages and beliefs, without rated—the Feast of Sinterk- inside. In Holland, it is more ginger nuts), pepernoten trusty white steed was trad-
any real religious connota- laas is held on Dec. 5th and common to give pres- (small aniseed flavored ed in for a troupe of rein-
tions. 6th.The holiday, consisting ents on Sinterklaas than at honey cookies), taai-ta- deer.
of St. Nicholas’s Eve and St. Christmas, which remains ai (aniseed and honey fla- Either way, both Sinterklaas
The Feast of Sinterklaas Nicholas’s Day, is observed a day to spend with family vored figurines), almond and Santa Claus stand for
This real-life Santa Claus by exchanging gifts and and attend church. filled pastries, chocolate the generosity of spirit and
was born to wealthy par- chocolate letters (of the letters, and duivekater (a kindness to children.
ents in the third century recipient’s initial). It is also The Foods of Sinterklaas sweet festive bread). Mulled Source: www.thespruce.
in Patara (the area was customary to make good- At the Feast of Sinterklaas, wine, called bischopswi- com q

Nature of Giving and Receiving

ORANJESTAD - The gift of giving is one of the most fulfilling actions we
can do. There may be a belief that when we have then only we are able
to give. Contrary to this belief is the natural law of receipts Ving which is
a hand that gives shall have space to receive.

As we give unconditionally from our heart, we also become receptive
to the natural laws of receptivity and thus Law of Abundance is experi-
enced. By the act of giving is not only pertaining to material wealth but
acts of kindness, selflessness, gratitude, knowledge sharing, guidance,
etc. The more we give unconditionally, the better the flow of Abun-
dance to ourselves shall be experienced.
If you don’t have money to give, just a blessing or a prayer is enough for
you to receive the same back.q

Suresh Mirchumal is a spiritual writer. “Well, you can categorize it like
that, although I don't call myself one. These thoughts come in ef-
fortlessly.” His aim is in a way to reach out to whoever gets inspired
or has an eye opening event within them that may transcend their
current state of consciousness. “Or let's say current emotional state
too. If one in a thousand benefits, that is already great.” Due to the
current world state, lots of struggles and stresses, we seem to lose
touch with that inner peace that we long for, Suresh explains. “I wish
to ease that through these small articles or tidbits.” You will find his tid-
bits in Aruba Today from now on, mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays.