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Christmas in the Netherlands





"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, And the government shall be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever."





The title of my Christmas Pages is: Christmas in the Netherlands. Is our Dutch Christmas very much different then in other countries?
On the whole I think it's not.


After we celebrated Sinterklaas (note: Sinterklaas is NOT the way we celebrate Christmas, it is a completely different celebration), and the old man is back to Spain on his steamboat again, the people in the Netherlands get ready for Christmas.


Shops are decorated in Christmas style and
you will hear Christmas carols everywhere.


The people who do not like an artificial tree, in garden centers and also on street corners they can buy a real Christmas tree.


A few days before Christmas it is very crowded in the supermarkets, when people start buying the things they need for Christmas dinner.
I have searched for some Dutch recipes, but I also added some links to other Christmas recipe sites.


The mail gets completely crazy in December, because millions of people send each other a Christmas greeting card.
In the Netherlands we even have special stamps in December, which cost a little less than the regular ones (only for use in the Netherlands though).


In many families they buy presents for each other and put them under the Christmas tree.



I like Christmas. When the days are short and it is dark outside and cold, and inside the house it is warm. It would be even more special if we had snow, but the last time we had a 'white Christmas' was in 1981! This century we had snow on both Christmas days only 7 times. In the 18th century 19 times, and in the 16th and 19th century 16 times.

In the Netherlands we celebrate Christmas on two days. "First Christmas day" on the 25th and "second Christmas day" on the 26th December. All shops are closed on those days and most people have two days off. Schools have two weeks Christmas holiday.
Children in the Netherlands do not believe in Santa Claus, they do not hang Christmas stockings at the fire place, and also the candy cane is not known here.
Many people do buy a poinsettia during Christmas season.








So as you see, Christmas in the Netherlands is very similar to other countries.
But ... perhaps HOW we celebrate might be not that different,
there may be a difference in exactly WHAT we celebrate.
For us as a Christian family it is the birth of Jesus Christ.


*****


He is the greatest GIFT one could ever receive:

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not parish, but have eternal live."


*****


He is our everlasting LIGHT:

Isaiah 9:2
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a Light has dawned."

John 8:12
"When Jesus spoke again to the people He said: " I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life."


*****


He gives us FOOD and DRINK:

John 6:51
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever."

John 4:14
"but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."


*****


He give us SONGS to sing:

Psalm 40:3
"He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord."


*****


He gives us real PEACE:

Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah 9:6b
"And He will be called … Prince of Peace."





When I began making these Christmas pages
I surfed the WWW for ideas, links, graphics etc.
I came across a lot of really nice Christmas pages.
I do not know if they will be online after Christmas,
but as long as they are, have fun!
Christmas sites





I hope you enjoyed your stay on our Dutch Christmas pages.
Thanks for visiting.

We wish you :

Merry Christmas
Gezegend Kerstfeest
Joyeux Noël
Fröhliche Weihnachten
Feliz Navidad


Merry Christmas in over 350 ! languages





Christmas in the Netherlands

* All Christmas pages updated and all links checked: May 2006 *

Index:

Christmas Wishes
Christmas tree and decorations
Christmas recipes
Christmas midi's and lyrics
Gifts and Presents
The story of the Birth of Jesus Christ
Christmas E-Cards
Santa?
Sinterklaas
The story of the candy cane
the poinsettia
Graphic Credits
Christmas sites

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