Sinterklaas! Very interestingly, the Dutch celebrate X'mas in quite a different way to us. On the 5th December, the Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas (which is apparently the origins of the Santa Claus we know). Sinterklaas comes from Turkey, and his name is actually Saint Nicholas (i've always wondered where Saint Nick came from). According to the Dutch, Sinterklaas now lives in Spain, and at the end of every November, he comes to the Netherlands in his boat and this is broadcasted live on TV. Presents are also very interesting! They do the whole secret Santa thing, and they have to actually make the presents and wrap/present them in a creative way. PLUS, if that doesn't require enough creativity, they have to make a poem as well!! They still celebrate on the 25th but not as much.
Above: Marcela with Sinterklaas! He pretty much looks like our traditional Santa, but he's taller and skinnier, and he dresses in a bishop's outfit. Oh, another really interesting (and quite bizzare) thing about Sinterklaas is that his helpers ain't elves. They're "Black Piets" instead, and they're his naughty servants from Africa apparently. Sounds just a bit politically incorrect, huh? You can see one in the background of the pic. But what's really amusing (and it freaked me out a bit actually) is that you'd find only white people playing the roles of the Black Piets on the streets by painting their faces completely black. Not sure whether if it would be any better if a black person dressed up as a Black Piet... Anyway, the tradition has been accused of being racist, but the Dutch have somehow found ways to look pass this, such as that they are chimney sweeps, and therefore black from the soot. You gotta lurv the Dutch culture. Found a pic of Black Piet from the televised arrival of Sinterklaas: 
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