DINOLINGO ‘Sinterklaas’ is one of the main traditional holidays. Sinterklaas is a bishop, originally from Spain. Together with his friendly helper ‘colorful Peter’ he travels to The Netherlands to deliver presents to children. He does so by climbing the roofs of the houses on his strong, white horse named “schimmel”. While on the roof, colorful Peter will climb through the chimney and put presents in the kids shoes, which have been placed beside the fire place.
Another important Dutch holiday is “Koninginnedag” (or Queens day), celebrated on April 30th. People celebrate the Queens birthday by dancing, singing, eating, and drinking in the streets. Traditionally, this is also a great opportunity to sell off old, unused items that have been sitting in basements. Many city centers become enormous ‘garage sales’.
Christmas and Easter are also celebrated in Holland. There is one exception; There is a 1st and 2nd Christmas/Easter day in Holland. During Christmas, family comes together to celebrate and eat goodies. Presents are not given during Christmas as they are reserved more for Sinterklaas.
Online Dutch lessons for kids: dinolingo.com