Today I’ve had a house full of busy little kids drawing and preparing for Sinterklaas’ big arrival by boat on Lago Maggiore. By 7am the three kids were busily drawing and sketching and colouring. Mama decided to stay in bed a little longer but could hear the giggling, chatting and overall excitement in their voices from upstairs.
Busy little hands hard at work. Here is a drawing of Sinterklaas accompanied by his Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters). Being a North American I have a bit of trouble accepting the whole concept of Sint’s helpers. But the Dutch speaking people are very defensive about their Sint tradition and say there is nothing derogatory about the Zwarte Pieten. Umm…ok.
The Sint arriving…
After a long visit of meeting the many kids, listening to Sint songs, eating some erwtensoep (pea soup), it’s time for the Sint to leave. There were lots of Flemish and Dutch kids in attendance. Also a few local Italians who were walking along the lake stopped to see what was going on. They all had very puzzled looks on their faces. Overall it was a very pleasant afternoon with incredible weather and a spectacular sunset.
Jillian In Italy 
oh that is very interesting. I have never heard of that tradition and am happy to learn something new from another culture. by the way, that artwork is sooo adorable! I love kids art!
If you like kid’s art you should check out my twin 9 year old daughters blog. They post a lot of their artwork, films they make, photos and daily thoughts. It’s a very interesting read. cocova.wordpress.com