Each December in the ABC Islands Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao locals and tourists celebrate the traditional Dutch holiday known as Saint Nicholas Day. Throughout the weeks leading up to the feast day on December 5, Sinterklaas the Dutch precursor to the American Santa Claus makes appearances throughout the islands and distributes gifts. Much like the Christmas season in America, the weeks surrounding Saint Nicholas Day are a very exciting time for Curacao and her sister islands. When you visit Curacao this year, add a little fun to your vacation by participating in some of the traditions of this special holiday.
As the character known as Sinterklaas appears each year to celebrate the feast day of Saint Nicholas, the fictional character of Dutch custom certainly bears a resemblance to the venerated saint. Saint Nicholas was actually the bishop of Myra, a city in what is now Turkey, in the 4th century. In the Catholic Church, Nicholas came to be the patron saint of children as a result of numerous stories claiming that the bishop had saved many children from lives of destitution, some from death. Today, Sinterklaas appears in Europe and the Caribbean wearing the...