Christmas in Amsterdam

Our first Christmas in Amsterdam was such a beautiful surprise. We threw a little Christmas party in our apartment and invited everyone we've met so far. I didn't think anyone would come! But we had a good crowd of around 35 come by. There were people from all nations here (most of them people John has met in his language class) and lots of our new dutch friends, as well as most of our neighbors. It was so sweet meeting neighbors and seeing everyone connect.

We experienced so much love from our church in the states. We received 4 huge packages, all our christmas ornaments from home (some friends here for a wedding brought them along) and a pile of christmas cards from Joshua House. It has felt so amazing to know that people from home are thinking of us and praying for us. We also experienced so much love here. On Christmas Eve, some of our new dutch friends had us over for a candlelight dinner. We were blown away by their hospitality. We felt like we were family. I am reminded of a passage that I read a couple nights ago in one of Paul's letters: "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." That captures the welcome we've felt this Christmas.

We were also able to "Skype" often with our family in the states - we even got to watch some of our family open presents! That certainly took the edge off of not being with them this season. But even beyond that, my sister Emilee came to stay with us for a week. It helped me see the city anew taking her around and showing her this place that is starting to really feel like home. We have so much to be thankful for.

All in all, Christmas in Amsterdam has been a joy. Yes, we dearly miss family and friends, but at every turn we have felt the presence of God with us. There is something about being stripped away from all of your comforts and traditions that forces you to go to the meaning of Christmas: the coming of God into the world - the beginning of all our hopes and dreams come true.

Sinterklaas.

Amanda's Sinterklaas gift was inside this homemade treasure chest; it is now Grayson's favorite toy
Well, our first "Sinterklaas" has come and gone. Here in Holland they have a separate holiday apart from Christmas to celebrate St. Nicholas - the 4th century Turkish bishop known for his kindness to children & the poor. Today was his birthday, and it is the big gift-giving festival here, with a lot of unique and fun traditions. Amanda and I were fortunate enough to celebrate Sinterklaas with some Dutch friends, who taught us the traditions.

Many Dutch folks will celebrate on the evening of the 5th, the day before Sinterklaas's birthday. You get together with family or close friends, eat pea soup & peppernoten, sing songs, and of course exchange gifts. The gift giving is fun - but there are rules:

• You exchange names, so you're only responsible for one person. That way you can really spend a lot of time and creativity on the gift.
  
• You wrap the gift in a unique or silly or over-the-top kind of way, typically either reflecting the person's personality or going along with the them of the gift inside.
  
• Then you write a poem for the person - it is supposed to make fun of the person (in a kind way, of course!), while at the same time giving hints as to what the gift is.
• Then going in turn, each person first reads out loud the poem written for them, then opens their gift.
• You're not allowed to tell anyone who you had - sortof like "secret santa" - even after the person opens the gift!

The entire process is so much fun. And we had a blast last night, giving and receiving gifts, laughing at the poems (and in my case, people laughing at me as I had to read mine in Dutch!), and always saying, "Dankje, Sinterklaas" after each present. I think that everyone should implement part or all of the Sinterklaas tradition into their Christmas gift-giving!

All of that though - the wrapping, the writing of poems, etc. - is mostly for adults. The kids get to celebrate in another way. On the evening of the 5th, they put their shoes out (nowdays by the radiator) with treats for Sinterklaas's horse stuffed inside. Come the morning of the 6th, their shoes will be filled with cookies/candies/gifts...sortof like our stocking tradition. So for kids in Holland, it is the morning of the 6th, not the morning of the 25th, that is exciting. They wake up early and run to find what Sint has left for them.

We couldn't resist - even though Grayson is way too young to remember, understand, or even care, we set out one of his little shoes. So this morning he had his favorite teething-cookie and a little present from Sinterklaas waiting for him underneath the radiator. He got his first train set; Great-grandpa Gemeinhart will be happy. He hasn't quite figured out that the trains are meant to ride on the tracks, or for that matter that the tracks aren't merely handy teething toys.



So now we are officially Sinterklaas veterans. I feel more dutch having experienced it.

If you're interested in the evolution from the Dutch Sinterklaas to the American Santa Clause, or even just the Sinterklaas tradition in general, go here or here.

Tot ziens!
John

Biggabeckuhbemma

Some notes from the low countries:

• Grayson's new favorite word is "biggabeckuhbemma." Last week it was "buh." He's advancing fast - he's already learned the Dutch art of compounding smaller words into endlessly long ones. Here are some great examples.
• Amanda took Grayson to the pool today for his first swimming lesson! They had a great time, and he even successfully went all the way under the water.
  
• My brain is fried from trying to learn almost 200 Dutch words a week. Two weeks down, five years to go.
• Check out Brooke's blog post, "re-creating a holiday in holland" for an account of our Thanksgiving here in Amsterdam.
  
• Sinterklaas is this weekend, and the whole city is going crazy for it. The "Sint" and two zwarte Pieten even came into our class today, handing out peppernoten. Yum!
  
• Eric preached at the Utrecht Vineyard this past weekend, and just hit the ball out of the park! I'm so glad to be a part of this team...
• Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent - the anticipation and hope of the coming of Jesus into the world. Here is the prayer for the day (slightly revised by me), from the Common Book of Prayer:

Almighty God, give us grase that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armor of light - now in the time of this mortal life, in which your son Jesus the Messiah came to visit us in great humility - that in the last day, when he shall come again in glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to immortal life. Through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.