Over the weekend I went to Xenos, a local store, to purchase additional face masks. That particular mission was successful, luckily. I also spent a few minutes staring at all of the holiday displays in the store. Halloween, Sinterklaas (December 5) and Christmas all in one day. I’m sure if they celebrated Thanksgiving in this country you would have seen turkeys as well.
I must admit those are some rather luxurious Sinterklaas letters (aka chocolate letters, usually a chocolate “S” if they want to keep it generic). And I think they are smart to have the Zwarte Piet costume (the blue clothes in the upper right) without showing a face. That’s one way to avoid the blackface discussion when it comes to Zwarte Piet (English Wikipedia).
And finally… in September… a Christmas tree!
Though I must admit the decorations are subtle enough and don’t shout “CHRISTMAS!” at you.
Life in the Hague 