The Sinterklaas legend is as follows: Once upon a time there was a severe famine, during which a poor man, a father of three children, was unable to provide enough food to support his family. In a moment of despair the
poor father abandoned his children in the woods. Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), a holy man, passed by and returned the children safely home after having given them plenty of food. Because of this legend, Sinterklaas is considered a friend and benefactor of children, and comes to offer them presents on December 6, the day of Saint Nicholas. Sinterklaas is accompanied by his helper “Zwarte Piet” (black Peter), a colored boy.Sinterklaas came to the party & sat, surrounded by his helpers, on a throne, and all the children lined up to greet him, sit on his lap, have their picture taken by excited parents, and receive their gifts. When it was the boys turn, one of the helpers asked them what she had asked all the other children “What are your names?” the boys said their names, “How old are you?” the boys told her their ages, “Where are you from?” the boys went silent. I knew they probably couldn’t answer. Most of the other children attending the party are in Leuven temporarily, are usually not born in Belgium, and have a precise country of origin. The boys are born in Belgium where they’ve spent their entire lives so far, but they have an American father and a Swedish mother, and they will, within a couple of years, move to a different country; Sweden or The United States or anywhere else work might take their parents. Where are they from?
By Lovain
2 comments:
That's a tough question for them at this age, I'm sure, especially with their background.
I'm interested to hear how you and your husband are working with them on that.
I've always moved a lot, and have never been able to answer that question in any easy way; so I ask how interested the person is because it's not an easy question for me. I usually just say that i'm not from any one place.
In the end, I never regretted the moving around we did, and it certainly didn't make me confused about my identity: i had other issues to stir up the identity questions;) But seriously, I think you two are doing an amazing job with the boys--we should all have such enlightened and dedicated parents. Besides, most kids aren't confused by that question because they lead dull lives; whereas, your boys are being exposed to the world, and more importantly, to the likes of Zwarte Piet.
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