David Sedaris Explains Christmas in the Netherlands with "Six to Eight Black Men"
Christmas has finally arrived here in New York: the smell of roasted nuts fills the air, happy tourists take carriage rides in Central Park, and unhappy children sit on Santa’s lap in department stores across the city.
Each part of the world has its own way to celebrate the holidays. FilipinaSoul.com shares the tradition of lanterns and other Christmas symbols in the Philippines and Guanabee.com discusses Christmas food traditions in the Caribbean. But perhaps no country has such unique traditions as The Netherlands and their Sinterklauss celebrations on December 5th.
David Sedaris takes us through the Dutch holiday traditions in his essay "Six to Eight Black Men." This essay, popularized in Sedaris’ book Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, has become a holiday tradition in my house.
In the video below, David Sedaris reads a passage of "Six to Eight Black Men" while we see traditional Dutch holiday festivities.
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3 Comments
Excellent video, Heather. One of my favorite parts of “Six to Eight Black Men” is:
“Saint Nicholas and the six to eight black men arrive on horses, which jump from the yard onto the roof. At this point, I guess, they either jump back down and use the door, or they stay put and vaporize through the pipes and electrical wires. Oscar wasn’t too clear about the particulars, but, really, who can blame him? We have the same problem with our Santa. He’s supposed to use the chimney, but if you don’t have one, he still manages to come through. It’s best not to think about it too hard.”
So true. And, yes, I tracked the essay down on the ‘Net just so I could repeat that excerpt. Thanks for the welcome infusion of sarcastic holiday cheer!
That is one of my favorite David Sedaris bits.
When I moved to Switzerland, I was amused to learn that Swiss St. Nick only travels with one or two black men.
Awesome clip Heather! My wife and I both had a good laugh. We’re moving to Amsterdam beginning of March so we are both looking forward to actually meeting Sinterklauss and his black helpers next year!