Sinterklaas in the Netherlands: pakjesavond, surprises and poems explained

Updated on 6 November 2026. Sources: government.nl and openluchtmuseum.nl (in Dutch).

In mid-November Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands by steamboat, and until 5 December you hear words at school, at work and in the supermarket that are in no textbook at all. A colleague asks if you want to join in with lootjes trekken (drawing names), the children zetten hun schoen (put out their shoe) and in the staff canteen there is a bowl of pepernoten (small spiced biscuits). If you have only just moved to the Netherlands, you often miss half of the conversation. Once you know what happens and which words go with it, you can join in, and you will also know why surprise needs a Dutch pronunciation.

In short

Sinterklaas is a children's celebration that adults celebrate too. The highlight is pakjesavond (present evening) on 5 December, the evening before the day Saint Nicholas died, 6 December (Openluchtmuseum, in Dutch). Children get presents from the Sint, and adults often draw names and make each other a surprise with a poem.

5 December is not a public holiday. School and work simply go on that day. Christmas is a public holiday, on 25 and 26 December, but even then there is no legal right to a day off: that is in your collective agreement (cao) or your employment contract (government.nl).

In Dutch, a surprise is not an ordinary surprise but a homemade wrapping around a present. You pronounce it suur-PRIE-zuh, with a Dutch u and a short e at the end.

Who is Sinterklaas?

Sinterklaas is based on Nicholas, a bishop from Myra, in what is now Turkey. He was known as a friend of children and died on 6 December. Until the Reformation in the sixteenth century it was a Catholic feast. Because Protestants rejected the worship of saints, the celebration became less and less religious, and people often celebrated it in secret on the evening before. That is why 5 December is now the big evening (Openluchtmuseum, in Dutch).

Much of what you see now is younger than you think. The steamboat and the grey horse come from a children's book by a schoolteacher from 1850. Speculaas (spiced biscuits) and taaitaai (chewy gingerbread) really are old: they already appear in a seventeenth-century painting by Jan Steen that hangs in the Rijksmuseum (Openluchtmuseum, in Dutch).

In the stories, Sinterklaas lives in Spain. He has a long red cloak, a white beard and a tall mitre on his head, and he rides a white horse over the rooftops. His helpers are called Pieten.

What happens from mid-November to 5 December?

It all starts with the intocht (the arrival). Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat and then rides through the town. There is a national arrival on television, and almost every town or village also has its own.

From then on, children zetten hun schoen a few times a week. In the evening they put a shoe by the heater or the door, often with a carrot or a drawing in it for the horse, and they sing Sinterklaas songs. The next morning there is something small in it, such as a chocolate mouse or a handful of pepernoten.

The well-known sweets are in the shops by then. Pepernoten and kruidnoten (spice nuts) are used interchangeably, but they are actually two different things. Kruidnoten are small, hard, round biscuits with speculaas spices. Pepernoten are softer and irregular in shape. In the shop a bag of kruidnoten often says pepernoten, and hardly anyone notices. You also get a chocoladeletter (chocolate letter): a big letter made of chocolate, usually the first letter of your name.

What is pakjesavond?

On 5 December, Sinterklaas and his Pieten come by in the evening. Often you first hear a loud knock on the door or the window, and when the children go to look, there is a sack of presents outside the door. At schools Sinterklaas sometimes visits in person, usually on or just before 5 December.

Because 5 December is not a public holiday, work simply goes on (government.nl). Parents with young children do often go home early that day. This year 5 December falls on a Saturday, so colleagues at work usually celebrate a few days earlier.

Adults usually celebrate differently. In the family, with friends or at work they trekken lootjes: everyone draws a name and makes a surprise with a poem for that person. They often agree on an amount, such as € 20 per person. There are also websites and apps that draw the names for you, so that nobody gets their own name. On the evening itself everyone takes turns to unwrap their present and read the poem aloud.

Surprise: not what you think, and not how you think

In English, a surprise is simply something unexpected. In Dutch, de surprise is something very specific: a wrapping you make yourself, with the real present inside. For example, you make a big football out of papier-mâché for a colleague who always talks about football, or a cardboard pizza box for a friend who never cooks. The better the surprise fits the person, the better. An ordinary surprise is called een verrassing in Dutch: Wat een verrassing dat je er bent! (What a surprise that you are here!)

The pronunciation is different too. In English you say something like suh-PRIZE, with the sound "ai" in the middle and nothing after the z. In Dutch you say suur-PRIE-zuh. The first syllable has the Dutch u, as in nu (now) and u (you, formal), not the sound "uh". English has no such sound, but it is like the u in French tu: say "ee" and round your lips at the same time. The second syllable has a long ie, as in drie (three), which sounds like the "ee" in see, and not the sound "ai". At the end you hear a short, weak e, the zuh, like the "uh" at the end of sofa. English speakers almost always forget that last sound, and that is exactly why you can hear straight away that it is an English word. The stress is on prie. The plural is surprises, pronounced suur-PRIE-zus.

It is de surprise. If you often hesitate over words like this, you can practise with the free game De of het?

How do you write a Sinterklaas poem?

Every surprise comes with a poem. It rhymes, usually two lines with each other, and it teases the person a little. About the colleague who is always late, or the friend who keeps losing his keys. Teasing is fine, but it stays friendly. You do not sign the poem with your own name, because officially it comes from Sint en Piet. Many poems begin with a fixed line, such as Sinterklaas zat te denken wat hij jou zou schenken (Sinterklaas was thinking about what he would give you).

In the past you sat at the table with a rhyming dictionary, or looked up rhymes on a rhyming website. You typed in a word, such as fiets (bike), and got a list with niets (nothing) and iets (something). After that you still had to make the sentences yourself. Nowadays many people ask an AI chatbot for the whole poem. That is quick, but it also shows. An AI poem is often neat, long and general, while a good Sinterklaas poem is short and knows something only you know.

If you are learning Dutch, writing a poem yourself is one of the most fun exercises of the year. You look for words that rhyme, you pay attention to the stress, and you use ordinary sentences from daily life. Feel free to let AI give you a list of rhymes, but write the sentences yourself. Your colleagues will hear the difference, and they will like it all the more that you tried.

And Zwarte Piet?

Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) was the subject of heated debate in the Netherlands for years, because many people find the figure with the black face paint hurtful. On television and at many arrivals you now see roetveegpieten (soot-smudge Petes): Pieten with a few black smudges on their face, as if they had come down the chimney. In some places Piet still looks the way he used to. If you notice that the subject is sensitive, that is because it is. Many Dutch people would rather not talk about it at work.

How do Dutch people celebrate Christmas?

Only once Sinterklaas has left does the Christmas period begin for many people, and many Dutch people only put up the Christmas tree once Sinterklaas is over. Christmas in the Netherlands lasts two days: eerste kerstdag (first Christmas Day) on 25 December and tweede kerstdag (second Christmas Day) on 26 December. Christmas Eve on 24 December is not a public holiday (government.nl).

Christmas is above all a celebration with family and food. Many families go to one side of the family on one Christmas Day and to the other side on the other day. Many families gourmetten: everyone cooks their own small pieces of meat, fish or vegetables on a hot plate at the table. In some families there are presents under the tree at Christmas, in others only at Sinterklaas.

What is a kerstpakket?

In December many employees get a kerstpakket (Christmas hamper) from their employer. It used to be a box of food and drink: a bottle of wine, sausage, biscuits, a kerststol (Christmas bread). Nowadays at many employers you can also choose something yourself online, such as a gift voucher, a game or something for the house. The kerstpakket is a gesture from your employer, and whether you get one differs from company to company.

You do not have to give anything back. A short thank-you is enough, for example in the team chat or to your manager: Bedankt voor het mooie kerstpakket! (Thank you for the lovely Christmas hamper!) If you get a hamper with things you do not eat or drink, colleagues often swap them or give them away among themselves.

Frequently asked questions

Is 5 December a day off?
No. Sinterklaas is not a public holiday, so school and work simply go on. Many parents do go home early that day.

Do I get Christmas off?
That depends on your collective agreement (cao) or your employment contract. First and second Christmas Day are public holidays, but there is no law that says you get those days off.

Do I have to do something in return for a kerstpakket?
No. A short thank-you to your manager or in the team chat is enough.

May I write a Sinterklaas poem with AI?
Yes, many people do. It often shows, though, because such a poem stays general. A short poem you write yourself, with one joke that is really about the other person, makes more of an impression.

Do you say de surprise or het surprise?
De surprise. The plural is surprises.

At Braials you learn Dutch online, in private lessons or in a small group, with topics from real life, December included. What a lesson costs is on What do Dutch lessons cost? Prices and examples.