The Dutch Christmas holiday actually begins several weeks earlier than ours, on December 5th. December 5th is the eve of December 6th, which is Saint Nicholas' day. On this day, Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas) is said to visit every home to pass out candy and gifts to the children in the household. Some children will even set hay or carrots out for Sinterklaas' white horse (his principal mode of transportation), setting their own shoes out in hopes to receive candy or gifts in them in return for the horses treat, similar to the American tradition of setting out milk and cookies for Santa Claus in hopes to receive treats in your stocking.

Sinterklaas is depicted as taller and thinner than the commercial version of Santa Claus. He wears a tall red hat and a long robe, similar to that of a bishop in the church. When necessary, Sinterklaas may even be accompanied by one or two small elves called "Black Peters." Black Peters poke and punish children who have been naughty while all the good children receive gifts from Sinterklaas. When Sinterklaas and his helpers are done with their work for the night, they return home, which is said to be somewhere in Spain.

The normal tradition of gift-giving between friends and family members is not as common in the Netherlands as it is in other areas of the world. Saint Nicholas' day is more like a day for the children, and they have already been paid a visit to by Sinterklaas.

Post-Saint Nicholas' day in the Netherlands is an extremely busy time for the Dutch people. They spent days, maybe even weeks, furiously cleaning their homes in preparation for the two consecutive Christmas Days they celebrate. On the first Christmas Day, the family usually congregates to share in a large meal together, the main course usually being some type of foul such as a goose or even some type of venison or even rabbit's meat. The Christmas holidays are a time for the Dutch people to connect with their families, and enjoy being around the people that are special to them. Second Christmas Day is sort of like a Dutch play day. 9 times out of 10, people take the day off work (school children are usually well into their two-week Christmas break at this time) to attend church or Christmas plays, play sports (the weather is usually pretty nice that time of year). Friends and family often meet up, especially if there are long distances between them, to have dinner at home together; sometimes the family might even go out to dinner at a restaurant.

Christmas trees, while often seen and decorated in many homes in the Netherlands, is not as common a tradition as in other areas of the world.

The Netherlands, more formally referred to as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a small country in northwestern Europe. Bordered by the North Sea, Christmas in the Netherlands is celebrated unlike Christmas anywhere else in the world. Bordered by Germany and Belgium, the small country is exposed to influences from many different European countries, and in that respect their respective cultures have a lot in common.