Archive for December, 2008
Sinterklaas IIII Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 25, 2008
For now, this will be the last post about Sinterklaas. If anyone has more questions about him and the Zwarte Pieten, please do no hesitate to ask. Now, finally, the link between Sinterklaas and Santa Claus. A little history: December 1931. Suddenly he was there and there was no way to avoid him. He was…
Sinterklaas II Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 18, 2008
For those who want to have a glimpse at the famous Jan Steen picture mentioned in the previous post… here’s a link to the website of the Dutch Museum showing the picture. http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/SK-A-385?page=3〈=nl&context_space=&context_id= Traditionally, the eve before the celebration, is called ‘Pakjesavond’ (the fifth of December) and could be translated as: The eve of gifts…
Sinterklaas I Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 15, 2008
I almost forgot a very Dutch tradition… It’s been very busy here so I completely forgot about it until after the ‘event’ was over… Of course I’m talking about the Dutch children’s hero: Sinterklaas. Every year on the 5th of November, Sinterklaas comes to the Netherlands from Spain with a large steam boat, his trusted…
Sinterklaas III Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 13, 2008
Ok, only two more topics about Sinterklaas… the last one (next time) will be about Sinterklaas vs Santa Claus… Last time I told you about the adventures of the Zwarte Pieten in the Dutch tv-show: ‘De Club van Sinterklaas’. Today I’d like to delve a bit deeper in the controversial history of the Zwarte Pieten…
Traditions: Death and a funeral Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 10, 2008
Today’s topic is: Dutch traditions… I’ll probably get back to this topic in the future, depending on what kind of interesting stuff I can find about Dutch traditions…Also, feel free to make suggestions! If I would ask someone: what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I mention the name: Holland? Some of…
Battle of Genders Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 8, 2008
Today I would like to tell you something about the Dutch genders. Unlike what you may have read somewhere else, there are still feminine and masculine genders in the Dutch language. Even though the use of genders is fading and has been fading for several ages, there are still words that are only masculine or…