A pack of Pieten on horseback.

This was the best shot I managed to get of the Sint on his white horse. Here, the kids leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the horse, and Sinterklaas repays the favor with gifts and sweets.

Sint Nicolaas and Zwarte Pieten on the Dam.

The gift-giving tradition is a bit different here too. All gifts are signed "Sint Nicolaas," so as to avoid credit or blame for the gifts! Gifts are traditionally small and hand made. They should always be accompanied by a poem, preferably one making gentle fun of the recipiant! The gifts are not left in plain sight under the tree, but are hidden around the house. One can expect to have to dig one's gift out of a flower pot, turn over bricks in the garden, or otherwise go to some effort to get your gift. Additional poems may direct you to aid in finding your gifts. Personally I really like this idea!

There is quite the parade following the Sint's arrival on the Dam. I couldn't figure out what the cannon had to do with it until it fired - shooting a cloud of ginger koekjes and pepernoten out into the crowd.

What the big fish has to do with it I don't know, other than that fishing was and is an important industry here. Note the Piet in a pot on the far side.

Nor do I know what the deal is with the monk on an ostrich.

The kids love the whole thing, though. They like to dress up as Piet, giving the mid-November holiday an element of our American Hallowe'en. The hunting for gifts is a bit like an Easter egg hunt. And the boat, the Pieten, and the poems are uniquely Dutch.

Note the very little Piet in the bottom left corner.