Thousands of
But Only One Saint Nicholas
STo Gar BCappy
cfKemehen's of a truly
ON this Christmas holiday, we pay
special tribute to the past 25
years during which Heineken's has
grown to be America's largest selling
imported beer.
As we review the past, we observe
the growth of a brand from infancy
to a leader in its field. Heineken's
came to America in 1933 after the
repeal of the Volstead Act. As you
can imagine, introducing a foreign
and expensive product on the Ameri
can market was not an easy task, but
as soon as Heineken's quality teas
sampled, it was earmarked for success.
By Christmas of 1937Heineken's
had obtained sizeable distribution
throughout the Eastern States and ivas
ready to exploit the Southern and
Western markets. Our Christmas in
193 7 was a joyful one, for Heineken's
had by then somewhat proven itself
to be a favorite among discriminating
American beer drinkers. Our efforts
were slowly being rewarded.
The New York World's Fair in
1939 was the scene of the famous
Heineken's aan de Zuiderzee restau
rant and exhibit. It was here that
Heineken's teas able to be sampled
by Americans from all over the coun
try. This proved that the quality of
our product was its best salesman be
cause, as these people returned to their
homes in all parts of the country, they
began asking for Heineken'sand as
these requests mounted, our distribu
tion and national sales increased.
On this Christmas holiday, we, on
behalf of Heineken's, like to remem
ber these 25 years and are thankful to
our many friends, distributors and
their salesmen as well as our own
personnel who have worked so hard
to bring Heineken's quality story to
the American consumers.
A SPECIAL HOLIDAY TRIBUTE
You'll find thousands of windmills in Holland. That's true. Plenty of wooden
shoes, too, and many people wear them, especially in Voldendam and Marken. They
have as much butter, milk and cheese as anyone can eat, and the land is so flat that
you can see a church steeple a hundred miles away if you have good eyes. On
that flat land grow tulips and other flowers, bright red, yellow, purple, blue, orange
and white. There are also barrel organs; they play at the corners of narrow streets
in the old towns.
But Holland is also the land of Saint Nicholas. Nowhere in the world is that
good man so honored and
loved as in Holland. There are
smart and stupid children in
Holland. The smart ones know
a lot, the dumb ones much
less. But they all know who
Saint Nicholas is.
They all know the date of
his birthday, December fifth.
Fathers and mothers, grand
fathers and grandmothers,
great-grandfathers and great-
grandmothers may forget a lot
of birthdays. But they neTT~"
forget the good Saint's bp
day. For on his birthday all
Holland celebrates. In fact it
is the most popular feast in
the Netherlands.
EVERY TOWN,
EVERY HAMLET JOINS
IN THE CELEBRATION
Every Dutch town cele
brates the traditional Saint
Nicholas day in its own particular way. So does every village and hamlet. Amsterdam,
the capital of The Netherlands, celebrates the event in grand style.
A couple of weeks before December 5th, a ship carrying Saint Nicholas and a
whole group of Black Peters arrives in the harbour of Amsterdam. About a million
people live in Amsterdam, and they all line the streets welcoming the good Saint on
his arrival in Holland's capital. As the ship approaches, everybody joins in singing:
"Look, there is the steamer from far away lands.
It brings us St. Nicholas, he's waving his hands."
Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas as the Dutch often affectionately call him, then
mounts his white horse and starts his triumphant ride through the city. All along the
route there are thousands of children. They sing and shout with delight. Behind the
Saint follow a number of Black Peters and finally a procession of floats depicting
fairy-tale scenes, such as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
Where Saint Nicholas lives during the days preceding his birthday is a defepC
secret. But on his birthday, the fifth of December, the generous Saint goes to work.
He has quite a job. One million times these presents have to be delivered at home!
Mr. van Munching, President of The
Netherland Club joins Sinterklass (Floris
Terwogt) in greeting the assembled
guests at the annual December fifth cel
ebration held at the Club in New York.
