A Real St. Nicholas Party
It gives me much pleasure to extend
to you and your beloved ones once
again the best wishes for a Merry
Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous
New Year.
In many ways, the passing year has
been a very good one for us, and I be
lieve, for our associated friends in the
trade. It is, therefore, that I express
the sincere hope that the new year will
be at least as good to all of us and that
we shall enjoy peace and happiness.
You will have heard of my unfortu
nate automobile accident which left me
with a fractured leg which is presently
on the mend. Much of the agony was
eased by the very many expressions of
cheer and friendship from our happy
Heine ken's family in the United States.
It really warmed my heart to know that
so many of you took time out to send
me a little token of your friendship and
I can assure you I cherish this very
much.
While recuperating, I have had am
ple time to think and thank the Lord for
the many blessings he has bestowed
upon myself, my family and all of us.
It is a proud feeling to know that 1959
has been our most successful year in
Heine ken's sales and my territory has
accounted for over a million cases of
Heineken's shipped from Holland dur
ing 1959, which means in reality that
we have increased our total sales over
last year by approximately 200,000
cases
There are extensive plans in prepara
tion for further and additional con
sumer advertising, more point-of-sale
materials and more and further assis
tance to our wholesalers. In 1960 we
shall actively undertake further devel
opment of our draught beer sales now
that we have more cooperage available.
In general, it is a very happy picture
and I do look forward with confidence
to everyone involved in going after big
ger and better sales for 1960.
I sincerely hope you will have a most
enjoyable holiday season.
Cordially yours,
St. Nicholas is believed to have been born on December 6th, but the eve of
his birthday is celebrated in all Dutch-speaking areas. To give a real Dutch
St. Nicholas Eve party requires much planning and preparation. There are
of course many ways in which to do this, depending on the age and number of
participants and other circumstances, but the following is a description of the
more or less traditional procedure an American hostess could well duplicate.
The first step is to invite friends or the little friends of one's children to
come after dinner on the evening of December 5th. There is nothing formal about
it; an air of mystry or studied innocence adds to the fun. In Holland, of course,
everybody knows by tradition what is going on and every member of the family
or group prepares his gifts for all the others. In America, however, all the prepa
ration will have to be carried out by the party-giver; but here the element of
surprise will make the party an even greater success.
Now for the shopping. Expensive gifts are definitely not necessary. It is the
manner in which they are presented that counts. Small dime store articles, chosen
with care and meaning, are just what is needed; whether one or more gifts for
each guest is up to the donor. Candies in the shape of funny figures make nice
little extra presents.
Then comes the most difficult part of all, for every single gift should be
accompanied by a verse or doggerel. Whether long or short, is entirely up to the
rhyming talents of the giver, but it just cannot be left out. The poem should deal
wtih the good points or the weaknesses of the recipient; just plain kidding is a
must. Each poem is signed by Sinterklaas as the giver must remain anonymous.
Just in case this part of the business worries American party-givers, they will
find it helpful to consult Webster's Dictionary which contains a Vocabulary of
Rhymes.
The next step is preparing the packages, and here the imagination should
be given free rein. Pretty gift wrappings are definitely the wrong thing; the gifts
should be carefully camouflaged and made to look like something else. Therefore
the Dutch call them "surprises" instead of presents. Here are a few examples:
Little gifts could be concealed in potatoes dressed as dolls; in a pudding made
of gaily colored starch; in a glove filled with wet sand; etc. Larger presents can
be hidden in the coal cellar, in a box full of rubbish or among other boxes filled
with newspaper shreds; in a dressed-up dressmaker's dummy or broomstick, repre
senting somebody's beau or girlfriend; in a cauliflower or cabbage among other
vegetables; after various false leads; in some closet or trunk as in a treasure hunt;
and so on, and so forth. The greater the imagination, the greater the fun. Each
"surprise" should be addressed to the recipient and signed by St. Nick.
It is obvious that all this requires careful planning and preparation. No
wonder all Holland "goes mysterious" that time of the year. If one opens a certain
closet, furious people suddenly jump up, shouting "Keep out, please!" Doors are
found locked, excited whispers are everywhere and all this is considered quite
normal.
A stranger in Holland at that time may be somewhat startled to find an
otherwise perfectly dignified business executive deeply absorbed in hiding a little
package in a jello pudding or in a big sausage. Not so the executive's personnel.
They realize that the boss is preparing his wife's Sinterklaas "surprise" which he
cannot do at home for fear that his wife will be wondering what he's up to in the
kitchen. And wouldn't that same stranger be even more astonished if he happened
to sit in the visitor's gallery of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament and
hear the Speaker open a debate in self-made verse with a number of members^
answering in rhyme! But it does happen every 5th of December.
üo Our O^appy,
Continued on Page 3)
