On Sunday, about 75 children accompanied their parents to the British International School, Puxi, for Sinterklaas, an event for children to celebrate the upcoming St Nicholas Day.

St Nicholas Day, which falls on December 6 each year, is celebrated in Belgium, the Netherlands, and lower Rhineland in Germany and some parts of France and Italy. For Chinese people, the holiday isn't as well-known as Christmas. Sinterklaas is a figure based on Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Christian bishop who resided in modern-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas, who was said to have been born to a wealthy family, used to anonymously give money and gifts to the poor.

Most of the families who attended Sunday's event were Belgian. The event was organized by the expat organization VLIS, which stands for Vlamingen in Shanghai (Belgians Living in Shanghai).

Christian Nolf, a father of two who attended Sunday's event, has heard several versions of the Sinterklaas's story. "The most widely spread one is that Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands from Spain on a steamboat every year in mid-November," said Nolf, who is a professor at a university in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

Sinterklaas then rides his horse from chimney to chimney to deliver gifts to children, with the help of a companion called Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter. Black Peter goes down the chimneys with a bag of chocolate and gingerbread cookies for children, whose face turns black from the resulting cloud of soot.

On December 5, the eve of St Nicholas Day, children place their shoes next to the chimneys in preparation for Sinterklaas's visit. Inside one of the shoes is a carrot for Sinterklaas's horse. "In Belgium, children will wait until the morning of December 6 to receive their gifts," said Wu Baojian, a parent who lived in Belgium for about 10 years and is now based in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.

In Belgium, the government provides financial aid to the poor for the holiday, said Van Thienen Wim, who took his daughter to the school's event.

After breakfast, the children received their gifts, which were prepared by their parents and drew Sinterklass-themed pictures. Quite a number of them had pictures taken with volunteers in Sinterklaas and Black Peter costumes.

The traditional figure of Sinterklaas is an elderly man with white hair and a long beard in a red cape. He carries a book in which he has recorded whether a child has been naughty or nice over the past year.

Black Peter, who is usually portrayed as a black-faced man, usually wears a feathered cap and a white collar. The character has been subject to controversy since he first appeared as the servant of Sinterklaas in some legends, Nolf said. Some people consider him to be a racist character.

VLIS has 24 sponsors, the majority of which are businesses. Since VLIS was founded 16 years ago, the organization has grown from 15 regular event attendees to around 300 members, said Cindy Durinx, VLIS's chairwoman. Every month, it arranges a Belgium Night in Shanghai, where members mingle with their fellow countrymen over drinks. "We are trying to make it so Belgians feel at home and communicate in Flemish," she told the Global Times.

The organization also organizes charity events.

Durinx said most families will celebrate St Nicholas Day privately Friday and Saturday.

 

Colored drawings of Sinterklaas and Black Peter on a steamboat

Children unwrapping presents

Children take a photo with Saint Nicholas and Black Peters Sunday.

Photos: Fang Shaoqing/GT