{A Happy Saint Nicholas with Chocolate Letters + Update}

        A very stressful week with a Happy Ending!

Dad is home again and did NOT need any heart surgery at all.

Prayers did get answered big time and we all feel so blessed.

My sister Gerd with daughter Lindsay did bring Dad home this afternoon.

Perfect timing for Saint Nicholas!

This is last year's order of Chocolate Letters for Friends and Extended Family...

Most people prefer MILK chocolate; what is your preference?
Mine is DARK...

Husband Pieter's is MILK or MELK in Dutch...

Before my sister Gerd, with her daughter went upstairs to Dad's room at the VieCuri hospital in The Netherlands, Lindsay did IMPROMPTU play at the Grand Piano:
Lindsay's version of Comptine d'un autre été l'après-midi by Yann Tiersen
Just click the above link... ENJOY! Sorry but Gerd has deleted said video...
And last but not least; THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Chocolate letters are great gift ideas for Santa Claus...

Related links:
{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me
{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?} | previous post by me
{Chocolate Letter LOVE} | previous post by me

{Happy & Healthy New Year 2015}

Wishing you all, the world over, a Happy & Healthy New Year 2015!

Be it Champagne or in our case, an Italian Prosecco, Champagne's sexy Italian cousin; CHEERS to Good Health and Happiness!

For all my Greek readers:  Ευτυχισμένος ο Νέος Χρόνος! Happy New Year! ←click it for learning from Marie-Anne, more about the Greek day for Gift Giving on Saint Basil's Day on January 1, like Saint Nicholas on December 6, or Santa Claus on December 25.

{The Birth of Santa Claus}

We are nearing Christmas, so this story about the Birth of Santa Claus is interesting...

English speaking readers can read the text below:

The American Santa Claus has developed strictly on his own to the point where he is now stationed on the North Pole and drives a team of reindeer. 

All that remains of his Dutch phase is his name: Santa Claus is a direct derivation of Sinterklaas.

Popular Dutch folk song...

For the Dutch Sinterklaas Eve...
Large chocolate initials serve as place settings along with the so-called 'lovers', tall men and women of speculaas, a crisp and dark brown pastry rather like ginger bread.

From De Nederlandse COURANT

The mailing of St. Nicholas cards was in the beginning of the 20th century a tradition in the better circles.

Related links:

{Of Sint and Santa} | previous post by me
{How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats} | previous post by me

{Of Sint and Santa}

As promised in my previous post, some more info Of Sint and Santa...
December 6, is the birthday of Saint Nicholas.

From our traveling days as International Consultants, I did save this very informative story from the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' in-flight magazine.
It is in English, so if you like to, you are able to read it.
~
Of Sint and Santa
Whatever you call him - Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Sinterklaas - St. Nicholas presides over the season of giving. Ghislaine Kruit and Terri J. Kester look into the long history of the man in red and the Dutch tradition that bears his name.

Facing page and above: Dutch children turn out in their thousands to welcome Sinterklaas in mid-November
Sinterklaas is treated with the reverence owing to a bishop
Right: gangs of Zwarte Piets accompany their master. They distribute small treats among the crowd.

Left: Image from The Book of Hours (ca 1500) illustrating St Nicholas' revival of three drowned boys.
St Nicholas' Day was once observed all over Europe as a special day for children.
Below: German and French Christmas cards from the early 1900s show St Nicholas presenting gifts.

Above: Season's greetings from France (1920-12).
Right: Thomas Nast's incarnation of St. Nicholas as Santa (Harper's Illustrated Weekly, 1870)

Father Christmas made this appearance in Punch in 1880
In this Swedish illustration (1917) Santa knocks at the door
Santa-shaped balloon floating over New York City (1949)
~
Indeed, the ending is so true: Whichever way you look at it, St Nicholas plays a starring role in the longest party in history.

Related links:

{How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats} | previous post by me
{SAINT NICHOLAS - SINTERKLAAS 2013} | previous post by me

The Origin of Santa Claus Video about history, listen till the end to hear how Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus...

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas} | previous post by me about my newspaper publication

{Humble Gifts of the 1950s} | previous post by me about my early childhood treats for December

{Chocolate & Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me
{Chocolate Letter LOVE} | previous post by me

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me
{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?} | previous post by me

{How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats}

Just have to share this great find with you around the very popular Dutch Saint Nicholas or 'SINTERKLAAS' celebration.
On December 5th, for the adults and December 6th, for the little children the Dutch celebrate their gift giving.

How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats by Peter G. Rose. 
She did an excellent job!

How many of you did know about this historical fact?

Now you can read Peter G. Rose's excellent book: Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats: A Holiday Cookbook ←click it to have some page insight at Barnes & Noble.

Also available at Amazon.com where I got mine...

Treats for the Saint Nicholas season, as shown here in a 1995 Dutch Nouveau magazine.

You can read about and even find RECIPES for making your own Saint Nicholas or SINTERKLAAS treats! Many of which are already very popular here in the USA!
Shown above is Black Pete, Saint Nicholas' helper and there has been a tremendous outpour against the 'few' that wanted to do away with him.
Dutch court rules in favor of 'Black Pete' ←click link.
It is obvious that this AGE OLD tradition has to STAY!

To the left is shown a Dutch book about the festive finale, the way December is being celebrated in my birth country The Netherlands.

It was a special gift from dear Dutch friends and is an exclusive edition by De Bijenkorf.nl, 1981.

Writer Peter G. Rose did a fabulous job in listing all the Treats, just like being found in this Dutch version.

My Sewing Creation napkin with gold DMC thread done on my serger.

I've also quilted (by machine) placemats to go with them.

Shown is a scented French candle from Point A La Ligne and the Mason's Mandalay Chartreuse tea cup & saucer with cigarette holder in which I keep demitasse spoons.
If you still need to find out for the coming Christmas Season about: {Difference Between Coffee & Tea Cups} you can read my MOST popular all time post.
Next post will also be about 'Of Sint and Santa'...
Such an important historic tradition!

Related link:
{TIP New Purpose for Cigarette Holder} | previous post by me

{Merry Christmas 2014} | later post by me showing my sewing creation 

{SAINT NICHOLAS - SINTERKLAAS 2013}

Does any of you celebrate Saint Nicholas's Birthday on December 6th? Or SINTERKLAAS, in Dutch...? Certainly my Dutch readers, family and friends will! They put their wooden shoes or other shoes out in front of the fireplace, with a carrot and some hay for Saint Nicholas' horse. Often they will find some sweets in return the next morning. All that takes place during the weeks of November; in anticipation of THE BIG DAY for the larger gift(s) if you are fortunate.

The little wooden shoe to the right is actually MINE; worn when I was 3 years old!

The leather straps were worn out but the shoe itself is in perfect condition.

Mom & Dad saved those wooden shoes for me and my younger sister Diny to hand them to us as we were grown up.

My Dad's brother and painter, Jan, did paint mine and I still keep them in front of our fireplace!

These are actually photos taken for my earlier publication of a column for the local newspaper.

You can read more about that in the link below this post, as well as about the origin of Santa Claus.

Typical Dutch scene of Saint Nicholas arriving from Spain...

Soon he will return to Spain till next year; 2014.

Related links:
The Origin of Santa Claus Video about history, listen till the end to hear how Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus...

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas} | previous post by me about my newspaper publication

{Humble Gifts of the 1950s} | previous post by me about my early childhood treats for December

{Chocolate & Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me
Samichlaus and his helper Schmutzli | Swiss tradition from the 10th Century via Turkey
{Chocolate Letter LOVE} | previous post by me

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me
{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?} | previous post by me

{Humble Gifts of the 1950s}

Which makes a child more happy? Loads of toys, gadgets and candy; or a simple gift that is given with lots of LOVE? Looking back onto my own childhood, I do remember many warm and fuzzy moments. One of them was when Dad took all of us on a Sunday in December, to a local restaurant where he sang with all the choir members. The PROTECTRESS (wife of one of the wealthy Chairmen) of the 'Horster Mannenkoor', male choir, gave each year, to all children of the choir members, a bag with candy and a thick orange. That was quite a treat for us. At that time children got no candy. The sugar consumption was still not so drastically high...

Here we walked just home on that Sunday in 1957. I was almost 6 years old (I'm to the right).

Sister Diny nibbles on her Spekkie = Marshmallow in a double diamond shape.

Martin is eating maybe a caramel and the stick of his lollipop peaks through the bag...

Little brother Piet is like me, still holding on to the entire bag of sweets.

We also got given an orange into our hands by the PROTECTRESS, that was very special, the smell alone was great as we seldom got any oranges at home.

We had to walk all to town = almost 2 km or 1 mile 427 yards, one way.

Baby Harry in the carriage... Two siblings not yet born.

This photo is taken in front of the chicken barn, away from the house.

Earlier in April of 1957, I was playing with my doll and the doll carriage that Diny and I had to share.

We usually got some clothes for Saint Nicholas but no sweets and very few toys.

Dad hand made for brother Martin, a beautiful wooden truck trailer, as he had to live frugal with his large family. So they only bought the truck, without trailer. 

Each evening after supper, when the little ones went to bed, Dad went to his work bench in the barn part of the house. There was no heat, nothing... His fingers must have turned blue from cold. But proudly it sat there, for my brother Martin as a complete gift on Saint Nicholas day.

That is giving with LOVE! My Parents, and no doubt many others at that time, gave all they could afford but always keeping in mind that it was not about the volume of gifts but about loving and caring for their children. How much have they sacrificed themselves? There were no luxuries at that time...

Do you have similar childhood memories?

Certainly several countries are still living like that because there are no means for giving that much.

The question remains would that be better? 

I learned to be grateful for very little! 

Some thoughts for Santa Claus...

Related link:

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas} previous post by me

{Chocolate Letter LOVE}

In my previous post: {Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?}, I did mention towards the end that we gave two years ago a package with the word LOVE to a very special extended family member... It meant so much to him. And there was not much more we could give him, other than true LOVE and this symbol written out in CHOCOLATE...

Great idea for Santa Claus!

LOVE

Sweet Chocolate LOVE... to a dear extended family member.

The son of my dear friend Natacha, who is like a younger sister, and her sons are like our own.

Sadly they moved away and we managed to visit still; Miami is not the end of the world!

Below this post you find a story about: Our EVERGLADES ADVENTURE with friend NATACHA.

In that EVERGLADES ADVENTURE post you will see photos of their cute sons.

The sad  thing is that their eldest son lost the battle of brain cancer, just last month.

Young; just turned 30 and only married for a couple of years.

Such a tragedy and it did hit hard.

It was Natacha's son that received the word: LOVE in chocolate...

Because otherwise we both were at a loss for words. What to say? What to do?

He fought the battle for more than two years but he lost it.

Now he is in heaven, a new Angel that probably is even closer to all of us as before.

Christmas is a happy time of the year; sure.

But with the loss of several loved ones, it also is a melancholic time of the year...

Certainly there are others that feel like I do.

May we all find the strength to open our hearts again and to trust the Angels for guiding us on our earthly journey. 

For the same reason I do love those silver alphabet Angels from Giovanni Raspini, Italy | they can express so much sentiment.

Chocolate can be bittersweet and I even like it that way.

Life can be bittersweet but we never like that part.

Together  we can do it.

LOVE heals...

Related links:

{Our EVERGLADES ADVENTURE with friend NATACHA} a previous post by me

{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?} a previous post by me

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} a previous post by me

Mariette's Back to Basics my Zen Cart powered on line boutique for Giovanni Raspini Angels in silver

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas}

For 3 years and 1 month, I have done free lance writing and features for our local newspaper The Courier Herald, Dublin Georgia. So why not share one of my articles with you here today, as it is the perfect time. 

In many countries, tomorrow is the 'big' day for children. By MARIET(TE) VEDDER (read below the story WHY I changed my name)...

The wooden shoe with the red heart is actually my personal shoe when I was 3 years old...

Below this post you find a link: {Our Living Room} where you can see those wooden shoes in front of the fire place.

In the Netherlands, families decorate their homes for Christmas and have Christmas trees just like in the United States. The big difference between the celebration of the two countries is in the gift–giving. In Holland it is not done on Christmas day, but on Dec. 5, Saint Nicholas Day. This is the name day of St. Nicholas who was the Bishop of Myra in Turkey. As legend goes, he bathed and fed and gave each of the 500 poor children of Myra a gift on his day. 

See video about the true history below post — The Origine of Santa Claus

Now Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated in many countries. In Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Germany and Belgium, as well as in the Netherlands, this is the day when gifts are exchanged among family members, and for the children in particular there are all sorts of other rituals connected with Saint Nicholas.

Every night from Dec. 1 on, Dutch children put in front of the fireplace a wooden shoe filled with hay and a carrot for the bishop's horse and cookies and candy for Saint Nicholas and his helper, Peter.  They also write a letter to Saint Nicholas wherein they mention their 'wishes' for the 5th of December. To make sure that it gets his attention, it goes in the wooden shoe, too.

Every morning the children find the wooden shoe empty, which means to them that Saint Nicholas, who rides on his white horse over the rooftops, sent his helper, Peter, down the chimney to pick up the goodies. Saint Nicholas always used a Moorish 'Peter' as a helper because he had to go down the chimney, for this is a 'black' job. 

Then on the evening of the 5th of December, Saint Nicholas personally visits the families and Peter hands out the gifts from a big burlap sack.

If the children behaved all year, they are praised. But if a child has misbehaved, Peter threatens to put him or her in the burlap sack and take them back to Spain. The children sing a song for the charitable duo, and Peter throws little cookies (pepernoten) at them -- not to hurt them but to reward them for their sweet serenade. 

And the nice thing about all this is, that when Christmas Day finally comes, there is another little present under the tree.

Could it be that the expression 'Double Dutch' comes from this?

For those that don't read English I have typed the entire text again, so they can translate it.

Funny is that in 1985, December 4, was also on a Wednesday...

My writing at that time got edited by the editor of the news paper.

So now you know the story of Saint Nicholas. It were the Dutch that brought Sinterklaas to the New World, to New Amsterdam. Present day New York in The New Netherlands. The Dutch word Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus... See link below about the origin of Santa Claus.

Lots of people seem to be searching for TRUE HISTORY! 

Related links:

LinkedIn Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder scroll down for reading: Free lance writer and features 

{Our Living Room} previous post where you can see my wooden shoes in front of the fire place
The Origin of Santa Claus Video about history, listen till the end to hear how Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus...
{# 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} previous blog post where I explain WHY I changed to  Mariette

{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?}

Hah, today I managed to get my order for Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS placed on line with Vander Veen's, The Dutch Store in Michigan, USA. For decades we've been ordering them as a gift to our friends. Or bringing them home with us, in the suitcase at the time we were able to buy them in The Netherlands. In 2008 we did so when we were in The Netherlands with our foster daughter Anita from Indonesia. She got so excited, searching for each letter on my shopping list! Everybody loves them and they are SPECIAL! Look at the great design on the box they come in, that looks so different from any other chocolate. It is a fine Dutch lifestyle tradition since 1896 and fond childhood memories for me. For my Canadian readers, I too have an address for getting those CHOCOLATE LETTERS: at The Dutch Market Ltd. Sorry for all other countries, they might be able to obtain them from The Netherlands and there could be some Dutch import into Australia as well... You let me know.

Not only for the traditional Dutch St. Nicholas or SINTERKLAAS, on December 6, but they make fine gifts for the Christmas season or for Santa Claus. As a matter of fact I would enjoy them year round with a cup of coffee... How about you?

Sure, I do LOVE dark chocolate! It is said that: A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

Click on the link (all colored ones are links) to find out more... I surely live by it.

Those silver Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co alphabet angels from Italy are available on my Zen Cart powered boutique on line: Mariette's Back to Basics - worldwide shipping. 

Below post is a link where you find them.

If you want to order CHOCOLATE LETTERS for the USA or Canada, you better do so early, as later on maybe not all Letters will be available... First come; first serve!

Today I got all mine secured; all 41 that is. Yes, my orders have been growing steadily as they are so much LOVED. That brings JOY to the giver as well.

Only 3 out of 41 are dark chocolate letters; including mine. 

What is your preference? Milk or Dark...? 

You might have gotten an idea.

Oh, we gave two years ago a package with the word LOVE to a very special extended family member... It meant so much to him. And there was not much more we could give him, other than true LOVE and this symbol written out in CHOCOLATE...

Related link:

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} a previous post by me 

{Chocolate Letter LOVE} | post by me

{Chocolate & Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas}

Back in my birth country, Sinterklaas was celebrated again on December 6. This custom has been brought to the New World by the Dutch and continued here as Saint Nicholas before it morphed into Santa Claus. For more history on Saint Nicholas you can look The Origin of Santa Claus. One of the nice customs that come from the Dutch Sinterklaas is the giving of chocolate letters from Vander Veen's The Dutch Store. Click on the fore mentioned hyperlink as they are available in the US too. The availability is only around December. In Canada you also can get them  at The Dutch Market. 

For another Alphabet Letter in pure 925/000 silver from Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co Italy, you can look here at Giovanni Raspini. Available at Spectrenoir ←click it. 

At least we did have a wonderful Sinterklaas, together with our daughter Liz.

Chocolate letters are fond childhood memories...

What do you like; milk or dark chocolate?

Related article:

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas}

In the Dutch tradition, today is THE DAY!

Saint Nicholas is being celebrated in my home country. Poems are written and surprise gifts are being made for a family member. Names are drawn before, and it's a lot of fun creating all this. One custom from The Netherlands I've integrated into the American life and all our American family and friends LOVE it.

Chocolate Alphabet letters! ←click it. Yummy...
Available here in the US too; click on the above hyperlink.
Also available in Canada at The Dutch Market Ltd.
Silver alphabet angels from Tuscany, Italy by Giovanni Raspini ,
available at my Zen Cart powered on line boutique:
Spectrenoir ←click it.

Have also a look at Madelief's blog Snowfakes and Crystals, she did describe so well  the time leading to the finale... when Sinterklaas finally delivers the goods. Saint Nicholas is thus Sinterklaas in Dutch. In my opinion, the Dutch way is far better and more pure, family oriented than the 'way too commercial' Christmas celebration here in the USA with Santa Claus. Christmas is a religious holiday and in The Netherlands it lasts TWO days! It is not as abruptly being amputated...
Let me show you our chocolate letters for friends; even if they will be given at Christmas time...
Most people do prefer milk chocolate and very few like the dark chocolate.
In my family it was only my Dad and me that preferred the dark...

You see also the silver alphabet angel letters together with the chocolate letters. Below I will be showing the additional silver alphabet angel letters that I have added. As with the chocolate letters, not all are available for purchase... You can always check with me if a certain letter is not shown, maybe I can obtain it for you.
For the photo session I dropped the box with my dark chocolate M and it broke; Murphy's law...

Pieter's P in milk chocolate... with the Giovanni Raspini silver alphabet angels from Italy. 

Since 1896, indeed a very old Dutch tradition!
And a younger Italian tradition with the silver letters...

 There are two sizes: 135 g and 65 g. Sometimes you have no choice...

This is how you order them, click on the image to enlarge.

Above you see some typical Dutch Sinterklaas treats from Chocolaterie Pierre.

Now I want to add some of the silver Giovanni Raspini letters that are available at: Spectrenoir.

Sorry the letter C is sol out...

The letter G is Sold out...

Sorry the letter S is Sold out...

The letter T is Sold out...

Sorry the letter V is Sold out...

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