Do you still celebrate Sinterklaas?

When you see the advertisements and the decorations on the streets and in the shops, the emphasis is on Christmas and not on the Sinterklaas celebration. Do you still celebrate Sinterklaas with your (grand)children, or do you already have the Christmas tree at home? Were you present during Sinterklaas's arrival in your municipality? Have you already bought gifts during the Black Friday sales? Do you have Sinterklaas stamps in your collection? But the most important question is whether you already have kruidnoten or pepernoten at home. Then the Sinterklaas festivities can begin.

Arrival of Sinterklaas

The national arrival of Sinterklaas is an annual live televised report of Sinterklaas's arrival in the Netherlands. Originally, the arrival was held in the second half of November. For commercial reasons, this was moved forward in 1994 to the Saturday between November 10 and 16. Nowadays, the arrival is held on the first Saturday after Saint Martin's Day, which falls between November 12 and 18.

The national arrival of Sinterklaas will take place this year from TexelOn Saturday, November 15, 2025, Sinterklaas, accompanied by the Pieten, will set foot on the largest Wadden Island of the Netherlands. Mayor Mark Pol of Texel reacted with delight: “We are proud to be organizing the national arrival of Sinterklaas. The arrival of Sinterklaas offers us the chance to showcase what Texel excels at: extraordinary hospitality combined with magnificent nature and lively villages. A celebration for the whole of the Netherlands and an invitation to all children and parents in the Netherlands to experience everything Texel has to offer. We are really looking forward to it.”

It is the first time in over 40 years that a Wadden Island is the location of the National Arrival; in 1984, Sinterklaas arrived on Terschelling. Last year, the National Arrival of Sinterklaas took place in the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden. The National Arrival of Sinterklaas was watched by over 2,2 million people on Saturday. This was reported by media expert Tina Nijkamp on Instagram. Last year, the arrival was watched by about 1,9 million people. It was an arrival with changeable weather, laughter, and tears.

In 2013, PostNL issued a series of five special Sinterklaas stamps in a sheet of ten. Notably, Zwarte Piet is not black, but purple. The debate surrounding Zwarte Piet began in 2013. According to PostNL, the stamps, which also feature Sinterklaas on his horse and a shoe containing a carrot, radiate 'the true Sinterklaas celebration'. The scent of gingerbread cookies released when you rub the stamps adds 'a special touch', according to PostNL. The illustrations were created by Max Kisman.

 

Pepernoten or kruidnoten?

Eating pepernoten is a Dutch tradition whose origins date back to the sixteenth century. At that time, children received pepernoten made from leftover gingerbread dough during the Sinterklaas celebration. The result: square pieces that tasted like gingerbread. Paintings by Jan Steen, for example, already depict people eating pepernoten. However, it was not until the eighteenth century that the pepernoot acquired its current shape and taste. In it, spices – pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves – processed into ingredients that sailors brought back from the Far East. The pepernoot with the most spices and the round shape became popular and was dubbed 'kruidnoot', but colloquially it was mainly called pepernoot. In the nineteenth century, the pepernoot was first mentioned in cookbooks, and the tradition of scattering pepernoten also began. There are various explanations for the scattering of pepernoten. One of them is that it symbolizes fertility; for Saint Nicholas, children are the most beautiful proof of fertility. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]             Many people think that pepernoten and kruidnoten are the same. This is not the case. The difference lies in the structure and size of the nut. The old-fashioned pepernoten are large, most resemble taaitaai, and have a somewhat bland taste. Pepernoten are made from rye flour and anise.

The kruidnoot is small, harder, and has a deeper and sharper flavor than the pepernoot. Additionally, it has the shape of a small hemisphere. The kruidnoot is made from wheat flour and speculaas spices. These are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, ginger powder, and white pepper. The 'pepernoten' that are handed out nowadays are generally often kruidnoten and therefore not pepernoten.

[One_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]              The Van Delft pepernoten factory has existed since 1880 and has been making pepernoten ever since. Producer Van Delft is therefore the 'official purveyor to Sinterklaas' when it comes to pepernoten. Of every hundred pepernoten sold in the Netherlands, approximately seventy come from this bakery – the largest and oldest pepernoten factory in the world.  

<strong> More info: </strong>

National arrival of Sinterklaas on November 15, 2025:

https://npo.nl/start/serie/de-intocht-van-sinterklaas/afleveringen/seizoen-4_1/intocht-sinterklaas-2025

From Delft: https://www.vandelftchocolates.nl/

  Sinterklaas! Through the Eyes of Quasi-Realists and Icon Painters, until January 10, 2026:

https://www.ikonenmuseumkampen.nl/actueel/exposities/expositie/sinterklaas-door-de-ogen-van-quasirealisten-en-ikonenschilders

The Adventure of SuperSint, until December 5, 2025, Limburgs Museum:

https://www.limburgsmuseum.nl/tentoonstelling/hetavontuurvansupersint/

Sinterklaas is staying at Museum Catharijneconvent again this year, until December 5, 2025:

https://www.catharijneconvent.nl/tentoonstellingen/huis-van-sinterklaas/

The House of Nicholas is in Weert, until December 4, 2025, open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The mornings are reserved for primary schools and organizations for the disabled that have registered in advance. For more info:

https://www.huisvannicolaas.nl/

Previous Sinterklaas blogs: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/tag/sinterklaas/