Christmas in Holland

For my 21 years of existence, I have never once spent Christmas away from my family. I've always either been at home or visiting my grandparents in Seattle for the holidays, so it'll be quite a challenge to spend Christmas and New Years abroad for the first time. However, it'll be wonderful to see the Dutch's unique holiday traditions. Lonely Planet's site on the Netherlands describes: "Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) is the white-bearded patron saint of children who arrives "from Spain" in mid-November. He is accompanied by a host of mischievous servants called Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters). On the evening of December 5, people give one another anonymous gifts, accompanied by poems about the recipient, written by Sinterklaas. The Dutch sensibly have two Christmas days (on December 25 and 26). Fireworks are only allowed to be sold in the days preceding New Year's Eve- there are hundreds of injuries each drunken, crackin', bangin' December 31." Obviously my typical traditions of "mele kalikimaka" and christmas luau's at the beach are going to change a bit this year! :)

 An overview of events throughout the year:  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/netherlands/events