[Gpdd] [MISC]<dutch halloween>

[Janneke Staaks]

Hi all,
sorry, i just cannot resist reacting to penny's email. In the netherlands we don't celebrate halloween (we do know what it is, we receive a lot of american television shows). We do however, have a dutch equivalent.
 
It is kind a hard to explain because every village has a different version of it. But we all agree that we call it 'Sint Maarten' (Sint=Saint) and it is celebrated on november 11th. What me and my sister used to do when we were young, is make a lantern out of colorfull paper and cardboard, hang it on a stick with an light attached (which went into the lantern). Then we went from door to door and we had to sing a song (it was about a little bird from sint maarten who had a blue tail..really silly now that i translate it). After the song we received a treat.
 
There also was a big fire in our vilage and you could go there and watch it and burn your lantern (we never did). It is catholic custom and it is about a story about saint maarten who cut his cloak in half and shared it with a poor person.
 
This is what wikepedia says about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day .I do not fully agree btw, we also celebrate sinterklaas (i'll tell more about that in december) and it is very different from sint maarten, although both are children's festivities (it is like saying that halloween and santa claus/christmas are the same). They say it like you either celebrate sinterklaas or saint maarten, and this is just not the case. Both are catholic customs and being catholics, we celebrate both. Althoug it is true that sint maarten is not as widespread as sinterklaas.
 
Okay, to go back to guinea pigs, I love the halloween pigtures you guys made! Real treat for me ;-)
Grtz
Jannekeh
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