Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December. It is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on Saint Nicholas’ Eve (5 December) in the Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas Day, in Belgium, Luxembourg and northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine and Artois).
Sinterklaas Overseas
The tradition has also been celebrated in overseas territories of the Netherlands, like Curaçao and Suriname, and also in the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia. Here Sinterklaas and a few Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) are driving in a convertible car on Tanah Abang Heuvel on 5 December 1947, with happy children and other spectators enjoying the scene.
source: Nationaal Archief, the Netherlands
