St Nicholas

I took the kids up to The Dutch Store (owned by my Uncle Pete and Tante Mietsie) to see St Nicholas and his helper black Peter (blackened by the soot in all the chimneys he goes down seeing if kids have been naughty or nice). It brought back memories from when I was a kid and the Dutch community in Salt Lake was so strong they'd have a huge dinner celebration where St Nicholas actually rode his white horse into the dining hall. It was funny to see my kids have the same reaction I remember having as a kid: fear of these strange dressed people. Although nowadays things have softened a bit and black Peter doesn't carry around a big sack to fill up with naughty kids.