On Sunday December 6th Saint Nicholas made his entrance at the Van Wickle House in Somerset, New Jersey. The historic house is maintained by the Meadows Foundations which has organized a Sinterklaas event at the house for decades.

Inside the Van Wickle House Dutch provincial flags and Dutch artwork were on display and traditional food including almond pastry and speculaas from the Holland-America Bakery was on sale. Outside, a beautiful Dutch street organ, the Violanta, played Sinterklaas songs. Johanna Vander Heyden is the driving force behind the Violanta street organ and created the Zwarte Piet costumes.

Before Sinterklaas arrived there was Dutch dancing, klompen dansen, with dancers in beautiful traditional Dutch costumes.

Sinterklaas arrived on a white horse and was accompanied by his helpers, Zwarte Pieten. Dr. Bruce Hamilton, the Chair of the Van Wickle House, welcomed Sinterklaas who sat down outside the House. Children offered drawings to Saint Nick and received sweets in return.

We wrote about the Van Wickle house a few months ago.

Dutch dancing.

Dutch dancing.

Zwarte Piet in front of the Violanta street organ.

Dutch food for sale.

Making speculaas

Staphorster Stipwerk.

Waiting for Sinterklaas.

Sinterklaas on his horse.

Arriving!

Sinterklaas and the crowd.

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten in Somerset, New Jersey.

There are two competing library systems in Somerset: the libraries of Somerset County, and the libraries of Franklin Township. According to the librarian at a Somerset County branch the two split up in the 1970's and went their own ways. Since we live on Pierce Street, in the town of Somerset, we weren't welcome in the Somerset County branch, but tonight we were gracefully accepted by the libraries of Franklin Township.

We went to the main library on DeMott street, in a beautiful new facility which looks like it opened last week. In fact it's been in use for almost five years. We applied for a card and borrowed some books for our vacation.

I love libraries. I browsed through this one and found that there were even some Dutch books on the shelves: three, to be precise. All three translations into Dutch from American and British authors, incidentally.

Dutch collection of the Franklin Township library in Somerset, NJ.

At home I like to walk around in flip-flops. This morning, in a concession to the weather, I put on a sweater and a jacket before going to the leasing office to pick up some coffee. It became clear that wearing flip-flops is not a great idea when the temperature is below freezing, and I made a beautiful slide on the sidewalk in front of our apartment. No damage done, but I did go back and change into shoes.

We had a fun dinner party with the Zanes yesterday; great company and outstanding food.

From our correspondent in the Netherlands, Jaap Bosman.

BrooklynBridgeBreukelen is an organization aimed at re-establishing the connection between Brooklyn, New York and Breukelen, the Dutch city that gave it its name. The connection between the two towns was the theme of various festivities in 2009, and last week an American breakfast in Breukelen was held in honor of the end of the BrooklynBridgeBreukelen year. Russell Shorto was the main speaker in the Koetshuis of Nyenrode University.

The acting mayor of Breukelen, Ger Mik, said in his introduction that a new foundation will keep the connections between Breukelen and Brooklyn alive even after the BrooklynBridgeBreukelen year.

Did the Dutch invent the American way of life?

Russell Shorto is the author of "New Amsterdam, Island at the Center of the World" and "Descartes' Bones. A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason" (both books are available in Dutch). Mr Shorto explained the large Dutch influence on the American way of life.

Mr Shorto: "the Netherlands were a very special country. In 1600 in London you would only find English people, in Paris French people, but in the towns of the Netherlands you could find all kinds of people". The inhabitants of these multicultural towns learned to accept and tolerate each other and when the Dutch started a small trading post in the New World in this way of life was exported to Nieuw Amsterdam. In 1640 the West Indische Compagnie no longer monopolized the trade in Nieuw Nederland and free trade flowered in Nieuw Amsterdam, as it did in Holland. From that time Nieuw Amsterdam grew as a trade center.

Most new immigrants arrived in New York and there they learned this 'Dutch way of life' and considered it to be the real American way of living. They spread this way of living throughout the US. That is why the Dutch had so much influence on the American way of life.

Mr. Shorto said that the ties between the USA and the Netherlands are still surprisingly strong: "Germany is at the other side of the border, Germany is close by, but between the USA and the Netherlands is a big Atlantic ocean and yet I feel that the Dutch are more close to the US than to Germany".

Around 50 guests attended the event in the main room of the Koetshuis where scrambled eggs, pancakes, fruit salad, and muffins made for an American breakfast. The Koetshuis is one of the buildings of the castle that houses Nyenrode Business University, built in 1275 by Gerard Splinter van Ruwiel. Breukelen is a village of nearly 10,000 inhabitants near the river Vecht, between Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Breukelen is not the only Dutch city that gave its name to an American place. The names Harlem, New Utrecht and New Amersfoort all originate in the Netherlands and are now parts of New York City.

Russell Shorto at the American breakfast for BrooklynBridgeBreukelen.

Nyenrode Business University in Breukelen displaying an American flag.

From our correspondent in the Netherlands, Jaap Bosman.

In honor of this year's Henry Hudson 400 celebration a series of portraits of the Trustees of the Holland Society of New York will be on display at Amsterdam City Hall. The exposition by Dutch photographer Geert Snoeijer will open on December 14, 2009.

The Holland Society of New York was founded in 1885 and typical last names of its members are Van Pelt, Ten Eyck, Beeckman, Westervelt, Bogarde and VanDerbeek. The goal of the organization is "to perpetuate the memory and foster and promote the principles of the Dutch ancestors of its members". Portraits at the exhibition include those of Walton VanWinkle, Samuel van Allen and Dr. Andrew Hendricks.

Opening on December 14

After the official welcome by Carolien Gehrels, alderman for Arts and Culture in Amsterdam, Martine Gosselink, head of the History Department of the Rijksmuseum will provide an historical outline. There will be a special musical performance by Renske Taminiau.

Geert Snoeijer was born in IJsselmuiden in 1968. He was a lawyer in Brussels and in Amsterdam after which he studied at the Amsterdam Centre for Photography. The Amsterdam City Hall is near the Waterlooplein and next to the Stopera or The Amsterdam Music Theater.

Dutch in America.com will attend the opening; look forward to our exclusive interview with the artist!

The Holland Society of New York, exhibition by Geert Snoeijer
December 14, 2009 through January 11, 2010 in Amsterdam City Hall/Stopera
January 11, 2010 through end of February, World Trade Center Amsterdam
http://www.geert-snoeijer.com/

We drove from Durham to Somerset yesterday, a trip that took us 8 hours and 45 minutes. We had packed most of our things on Friday. Saturday morning we packed the remaining items. We were on the road at 11.45 am, after a stop at the gas station and at Starbucks. We also stopped by the apartment office where Sinterklaas had sent us a very nice present (thank you!)

As soon was we entered Virginia we started seeing snow on the ground and quickly we were driving through a snow storm. Traffic was light though throughout the whole trip and it wasn't freezing yet.

We arrived just in time to do some grocery shopping (the store closes at 9.00 pm here). Comparing NC to NJ? To have to drive to a liquor store 10 minutes away to pick up a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer is silly in NJ, but the bread is definitely better in NJ.

On Sunday afternoon Saint Nicholas visited the Lefferts Historic House in Brooklyn, NY. Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas in Dutch, is a traditional winter holiday figure in the Netherlands. The Lefferts House which we visited earlier is a Dutch-American house and his visit was part of the display "Winter on a Flatbush Farm".

St. Nick made his entrance riding on a brown horse followed by a crowd of excited children, a little later then the scheduled 3.00 pm.

There were at least 3 Dutch families with small children attending. A mother said she was disappointed with this rendition of Saint Nick as the costume was not very elaborate. "And 15 minutes ago I saw them carrying his costume through the crowd, so everybody could see it!". However, Dutch and American children alike were duly impressed by Sinterklaas. Kids received chocolate gold coins and mandarins.

The tradition of a St. Nicholas visiting the Lefferts House goes back at least 20 years. "And we always get a couple of expat-families who visit", said Mr. Billy Holliday, the Director of the Lefferts Historic House. The traditional Saint Nicholas date is December 6th or the evening of the 5th, and most Sinterklaas events in the US and the Netherlands are held next weekend. Mr. Holliday explained that in the past the House was closed in December and though that's no longer the case, the event is still held the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Saint Nicholas stayed for about an hour. Children had the opportunity to pet his horse and feed it carrots. There were also demonstration of how to make candles and how to make sauerkraut. Inside a lady was spinning flax, and to the delight of this correspondent outside fresh "oliekoecks" or "oliebollen" were served.

St. Nick arrives.

Welcome.

Chocolate Euro coins.

Oliebollen!

St. Nick and his horse

Flax spinning.

St. Nick leaving.

"Zie de maan schijnt door de bomen..." -- see, the moon shining through the trees.

We had a good Thanksgiving weekend. Thursday we cooked a great Bulgarian-American dinner. We went for a long walk twice, and Saturday evening we went out with friends. Saturday morning I went for a long run for the first time in two months and that went very well, to my relief.

I left Durham this morning, and around noon I arrived at the Zanes. Spent a few nice hours there (showed off the new camera) and left for Brooklyn where I went to a Dutch event.

I cooked boerenkool tonight. The new apartment is nice and fully furnished but I discovered that making stamppot without a potato peeler and masher is a lot of work. Instead of rookworst I tried Italian sausage and it was delicious. There is a lot of Italian-American food in the grocery stores here; New Jersey/New York has a strong Italian community.

The Old First Reformed Church of Brooklyn organized a Dutch service and dinner on Sunday November 15. The event was part of the 5 Dutch Days in New York City. The church, affectionately called "Old First", dates back to 1654 when what is now New York was still New Amsterdam. Until 1824 services were held in Dutch.

Pastor Meeter welcomed us before the service and gave a tour of the historical building. "Heel goed" and "uitstekend" were the first Dutch words from the New Jersey born pastor, who speaks Dutch well and has a slight Frisian-Gronings accent. He explained that he learned Dutch from his grandparents and that he studied a few months in Groningen, the Netherlands. His PhD dissertation studied the English translations of Dutch liturgy.

The stained-glass windows of the Old First building carry the names of influential New York families of Dutch descent such as Suydam, Cortelyou and Schenk. The organ is a 1891 Roosevelt organ, made by cousins of 'Teddy'.

Geliefde gemeente, dames en heren, mensen en kinderen

Paster Meeter started his sermon with a greeting in Dutch: "Geliefde gemeente, dames en heren, mensen en kinderen."

The service incorporated many Dutch elements. The 15 children in the choir were dressed in old Dutch costumes and sang three Psalms in Dutch -- quite impressive. During the service Pastor Meeter talked about the history of the church: throughout its existence the congregation has had five buildings at three different locations. At its peak Old First had 1,000 members. In 1792 the church added an English language service and until 1824 the church used the Statenvertaling, the first official Dutch translation of the Bible.

During the sermon the pastor asked: "Why does our church participate in 5 Dutch Days? For many of the same reasons that school or a museum or a gallery or consulate would do this: knowledge, relationships, fun... but the driving motivation is love, The Love of God."

Avondmaal bekers

The church owns two antique communion cups (avondmaal bekers), crafted in 1684. Pastor Meeter showed us one of them; the other is on display in a museum in New York. The service was attended by around 130 people.

Dutch without potatoes

Dinner was served after the sermon. "Dinner" is used in its original meaning: the first meal of the day, eaten about noon. A team of many volunteers worked for two days to prepare the meal.

Ken Nieuwenhuis, a third generation Dutch-American, developed the menu and managed the kitchen. His grandfather immigrated from Noord-Holland to set up an American branch of a tulip export company in Wyckoff, NJ.

Ken knows Dutch food well: "This is what I grew up with. When I was first thinking of the menu I thought it would be fairly easy: just boil a large amount of potatoes and make a Dutch stamppot or two. But then I realized: no potatoes! The potato was not known to the Dutch colonists in New Netherland at the time. We tried to cook the food as it was done in New Netherland and with ingredients available in the 1600's. We used Peter Rose's historic cookbook 'The Sensible Cook' for guidance."

"The dishes had a lot of Dutch cultural influences, but also incorporated what we knew the colonists appropriated from the native Americans, which is why there was a corn meal based bread pudding on the table, and pancakes with pumpkin mash. I also tried to stick with fall vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, celeriac and squash (another New World staple), and with foods that the colonists would also likely have preserved, such as dried peas and smoked metworst. Interestingly, spices such as nutmeg and pepper were available in the 1600's, due to the Dutch spice trading".

Ken: "My favorite dish? The rabbit."

The meal was served and eaten with large wooden spoons. Dishes included:

• Peasoup with carrots and ham
• Metworst with cabbage
• Stewed rabbit
• Rodekool (red cabbage)
• The desserts included a boter letter, Dutch apple pie and home-made speculaas

The highlights of the dinner for a number of first generation Dutch-Americans we spoke with were the stewed rabbit and the sauerkraut with authentic metworst. Good metworst is hard to find in the United States and this was the real thing. Metworst is more flavorful than Polish kielbasa and coarser consistency. Ken Nieuwenhuis shared with us the secret of the sausage: it's from the Market Basket, a specialty store in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

Over a 100 guests attended the dinner, which was a great success thanks to hard work by the staff and many friendly volunteers.

Old First Reformed Church of Brooklyn
http://www.oldfirstbrooklyn.org

A Dutch bible in the church. Until 1824 services in the church were held in Dutch.

Pastor Meeter shows the communion cup.

The metworst sausage.

Menu.

Pea soup, ready for serving.

Enjoying the dinner.

Pea soup with a wooden spoon.

The desserts.

Ken Nieuwenhuis, the event chef.

The desserts were popular!

Today is Thanksgiving Day and today and tomorrow are days off. I like Thanksgiving, it's a relaxed celebration. Sasha and I are celebration it together this year.

Yesterday we went to the store to get our supplies (it was a madhouse with extra police on the parking lot etc). Since turkeys start at 8 pounds or so we'll have a whole chicken instead; that is so much fun to prepare. Mashed potatoes, corn and cranberry sauce will complete the meal.

My brother-in-law Gerben injured himself badly while playing korfbal last weekend; he's back from an operation in the hospital but it will be while before he's back on his feet. Send him a message if you can.