What does Christmas in Switzerland look like in a country with four official languages and a Santa who arrives on December 6th with a sidekick called Schmutzli? It looks like four Christmases stitched into one — German-Swiss Weihnachten , French-Swiss Noël , Italian-Swiss Natale , and Romansh Nadal — each with its own gift-bringer, sweets, and evening for the big family dinner. Yet beneath the variety runs a common Swiss thread: church, family, Guetzli cookies, and candles in the dark Alpine winter. Switzerland was not always the Christmas postcard it is today. The Reformation split the country along a Catholic–Protestant fault line in the 1500s — Zwingli's reformed Zurich treated the feast with suspicion, while Catholic cantons like Schwyz kept it in full pageantry. The St. Nicholas traditions you see today — the torchlit Klausjagen , the red-coated Samichlaus — are older than the modern Christmas tree, which only arrived from Germany in the 1800s. Amid the ski resorts and ma...
Christmas in the Netherlands begins with Sinterklaas, the white-bearded bishop who sails into the country on a steamboat from Spain, rides a white horse through cheering crowds, and turns December into the longest, strangest, and most beloved holiday season in Europe.
This is the true story of how a fourth-century bishop became the most famous figure in Dutch December, how his celebration survived a Protestant revolution that tried to ban him, and how Dutch settlers carried his legend across the Atlantic and accidentally invented Santa Claus. It is a story of steamboats and chimneys, of shoes filled with hay and carrots, of chocolate letters and midnight poems.
Unlike almost anywhere else in the world, the Netherlands has two gift-bringers, two Christmas days, and two celebrations stacked back to back. Sinterklaas arrives first and delivers his gifts on the evening of December 5. Christmas follows quietly in his wake, a family holiday of candlelight and slow meals. Together, they make Dutch December unlike anything else on earth.
Last updated: September 24, 2026
Jump to: The Name: What "Kerstmis" Really Means | Why They Celebrate: The Real History | The Story & Legends | Zwarte Piet: Legend vs. Fact | The Kerstman and How the Netherlands Invented Santa Claus | How They Celebrate Today | 10 Surprising Facts | FAQ
The Name: What "Kerstmis" Really Means
Every story starts with a name. The Dutch word for Christmas is Kerstmis, built from Kerst, the Dutch form of Christ, and mis, meaning mass or church service. In a country that swept away most Catholic traditions centuries ago, Christmas remains, quite literally, "Christ's Mass."
The Dutch greeting is Vrolijk Kerstfeest, "Merry Christmas Feast," and the word feest is no accident: Dutch Christmas is built around food and togetherness. Then there are the two Christmas days. Eerste Kerstdag, the First Christmas Day (December 25), belongs to close family and quiet celebration. Tweede Kerstdag, the Second Christmas Day (December 26), belongs to visiting relatives and friends. Both are official national holidays, each with its own character.
Why They Celebrate: The Real History
The story begins around the year 270 in Myra, on the coast of what is now Turkey, where a boy named Nicholas was born into a wealthy Christian family. After his parents died, he used his inheritance to help the poor in secret, most famously dropping bags of gold through the window of three poor sisters so they could afford to marry. As bishop of Myra, his reputation for quiet generosity spread across the Christian world. He died on December 6, 343, and that date became his feast day.
By the Middle Ages, Saint Nicholas was venerated across the Low Countries, especially in coastal cities where sailors claimed him as their patron. The evidence is not legend but archive: Utrecht records show that as early as 1427, people placed shoes in the Nicolaikerk church on the evening of December 5, and wealthy residents filled them with money distributed to the poor on December 6. The Dutch shoe tradition is more than 600 years old.
In the 1500s and 1600s the Netherlands became a Protestant republic, and Calvinist reformers set out to purge saint veneration. Sinterklaas should have died with the old order, but the Dutch kept him, turning a Catholic feast into a folk custom for everyone. Jan Steen's 1665 canvas Het Sint-Nicolaasfeest shows children waking to shoes of sweets, one weeping boy holding an empty shoe. Four centuries ago, the scene looked almost exactly like today.
The modern Sinterklaas has a precise birthday, though. In 1850, Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman published Sint Nikolaas en zijn Knecht (Saint Nicholas and His Servant), which gave the tradition nearly its entire present form: the arrival by steamboat, the journey from Spain, the white horse, and the helper figure. A medieval charity custom had become a national children's festival, and it has barely changed in 175 years.
The Story & Legends: Sinterklaas, the Steamboat, and Pakjesavond
Here is the story every Dutch child grows up with. Sinterklaas lives in Spain for most of the year. Each autumn, on the first Saturday after November 11, he sails into the Netherlands, and a different Dutch city hosts his official intocht, the grand arrival. The mayor welcomes him, millions watch the broadcast, and he rides his white horse through streets of singing children while the song Zie Ginds Komt de Stoomboot ("See, There Comes the Steamboat") echoes everywhere. Until December 5, children perform the nightly ritual of schoentje zetten: one shoe by the fireplace or door, tucked with hay and a carrot for the horse, plus a Sinterklaas song sung as loudly as possible so he hears it from the rooftops. In the morning the hay is gone, replaced by pepernoten (small spiced cookies), chocolate coins, or a small gift.
All of this builds toward Pakjesavond, the evening of December 5, the true climax of the Dutch holiday season. This is the night Dutch families exchange their main gifts, not Christmas morning. Gifts are disguised in elaborate handmade wrappings called surprises, each paired with a gedicht, an original teasing poem read aloud before the gift is opened. And almost everyone receives a chocoladeletter, a solid chocolate letter matching the first letter of their name. On the morning of December 6, Sinterklaas sails home, and only then do Dutch families put up their Christmas trees.
Zwarte Piet: Legend vs. Fact
No part of the story demands honesty more than Zwarte Piet, and here legend and fact must be separated. The legend told to children is simple: Piet is Sinterklaas's helper, who climbs down chimneys to deliver presents, which is why his face is covered in soot.
The facts are more complicated. The helper entered the tradition with Schenkman's 1850 book, and for over a century he was portrayed with full blackface makeup and exaggerated features, rooted in nineteenth-century colonial attitudes. That changed in the early 2010s, when activists, scholars, and Dutch citizens of color argued publicly that the figure was a racist caricature, sparking one of the most intense cultural debates in modern Dutch history.
The tradition has visibly shifted. A growing number of cities, schools, and the national arrival broadcast now use Roetveegpiet, the "Soot-Smudge Pete," whose face carries streaks of chimney soot rather than full black makeup, a version that fits the chimney story while leaving the caricature behind. Other communities keep the traditional look, and the conversation continues. What both sides agree on is the heart of it: Piet exists to bring joy to children, and the festival belongs to all of them.
The Kerstman and How the Netherlands Invented Santa Claus
Dutch children know two gift-bringers. Besides Sinterklaas, there is the Kerstman, the Christmas Man, who arrives on Christmas Eve much like Santa Claus. But Santa Claus is himself a Dutch export that America rebuilt beyond recognition.
In the 1600s, Dutch settlers carried Sinterklaas to New Netherland, centered on New Amsterdam, the settlement that became New York. English-speaking neighbors adopted the custom, and hearing Sinterklaas spoken quickly, they heard "Santa Claus." The transformation came in three acts: Washington Irving's 1809 satire, which invented the saint sliding down chimneys; John Pintard's 1810 campaign making St. Nicholas New York's patron; and the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, which added the sleigh, the eight reindeer, and moved gift-giving to Christmas Eve. The world's Santa was assembled in New York, but his name, his bishop's roots, and his December are Dutch.
How They Celebrate Today: Two Christmases, Gourmetten, and Gezelligheid
Once Sinterklaas has sailed home, the mood shifts completely. Where the Sinterklaas season is loud and public, Christmas in the Netherlands is quiet and private, built around gezelligheid, the untranslatable Dutch word for warmth, coziness, and togetherness. If Sinterklaas is the party, Christmas is the hearth.
Eerste Kerstdag belongs to the immediate family: a candlelit church service, then the year's most elaborate meal. The most beloved Dutch Christmas dinner is gourmetten: a small electric grill in the middle of the table, with each guest cooking tiny portions of meat, fish, and vegetables in their own little pan while everyone talks for hours. The table also holds kerststol, fruit bread filled with almond paste, and kerstkransjes, wreath-shaped cookies hung as ornaments. Tweede Kerstdag widens the circle: grandparents, aunts, uncles, a second feast, and long winter walks.
Beyond the home, December glows. Maastricht turns its Vrijthof square into Magisch Maastricht, a winter world of stalls and an ice rink, while Valkenburg hosts a Christmas market inside ancient marlstone caves. And in the rural east, farmers practice midwinterhoornblazen from Advent to Epiphany, blowing hand-carved wooden horns over wells, an ancient ritual recognized as intangible cultural heritage.
10 Surprising Facts About Christmas in the Netherlands
- Santa Claus is Dutch. "Santa Claus" comes directly from "Sinterklaas," carried to America by Dutch settlers in the 1600s.
- The Dutch get two Christmas days. December 25 (Eerste Kerstdag) and December 26 (Tweede Kerstdag) are both full national holidays.
- Most gifts arrive on December 5. Pakjesavond, the evening of December 5, is the main gift exchange for most families.
- The tree waits until December 6. Most families do not decorate until Sinterklaas has sailed home.
- Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat from Spain. A different city hosts his official intocht each November, broadcast live.
- You get chocolate shaped like your initial. The chocoladeletter is a solid chocolate letter matching your name's first letter.
- The shoe tradition is 600 years old. Utrecht records from 1427 describe shoes set out for Saint Nicholas's feast.
- Christmas dinner is cooked at the table. Gourmetten turns dinner into hours of gezelligheid.
- One 1850 book created the modern celebration. Jan Schenkman's Sint Nikolaas en zijn Knecht introduced the steamboat, Spain, and the helper.
- There is a Christmas market inside caves. Valkenburg's underground market fills ancient marlstone caverns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Sinterklaas and Santa Claus?
Sinterklaas is the original Dutch figure: a bishop in red robes and a mitre who arrives by steamboat from Spain and delivers gifts on December 5. Santa Claus is the American reinvention of that same figure, given a sleigh and reindeer in 1800s New York and moved to Christmas Eve. The Dutch celebrate both: Sinterklaas on December 5 and the Kerstman at Christmas.
When is Christmas celebrated in the Netherlands?
Christmas is December 25 and 26, Eerste Kerstdag and Tweede Kerstdag, both national holidays. The wider season starts in mid-November with Sinterklaas's arrival.
What is Pakjesavond?
Pakjesavond ("present evening") is December 5, the climax of the Sinterklaas season and the main gift exchange for most Dutch families. Gifts hide inside creative handmade surprises and come with teasing poems called gedichten, read aloud before opening.
What are Eerste Kerstdag and Tweede Kerstdag?
Eerste Kerstdag (December 25) is for close family, often with a church service and a festive meal like gourmetten. Tweede Kerstdag (December 26) is for visiting extended family and friends, a second meal, and winter walks.
What food do the Dutch eat at Christmas?
The signature dinner is gourmetten, tabletop grilling in tiny personal pans. The table also holds kerststol (fruit bread with almond paste), while the Sinterklaas season brings pepernoten, kruidnoten, speculaas, chocolate letters, and banketstaaf. Oliebollen, fried dough balls with powdered sugar, close out the year.
Why does Sinterklaas come from Spain?
The Spanish origin comes from Jan Schenkman's 1850 book. It may echo the era of Spanish rule over the Netherlands, but the steamboat from Spain has been canon for 175 years.
More Christmas Inspiration
- 40 Best Merry Christmas Wishes in Dutch (2026) — send Vrolijk Kerstfeest greetings the Dutch way.
- 15 Best Things to Do at Christmas in Amsterdam (2026) — canals, lights, and markets in the Dutch capital.
- 15 Best Things to Do at Christmas in Bruges (2026) — a fairy-tale Christmas just across the Belgian border.
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