Saturday, December 03, 2005

A Belgian Christmas

After spending a while in the Piggyback helping me with raking, Celeste got a taste of a Belgian Christmas this afternoon. Originally, we thought we'd go to see Santa Claus arrive by helicopter at the College Park Airport Museum, but the big arrival happened during Celeste's nap, so we shifted gears and headed to Riversdale.

With the help of the Belgian Embassy, the Riversdale Historical Society had organized "Sint Niklaas Day: A Winter Afternoon for Children." Like the airport event, we missed the arrival — in a sleigh pulled by a big draft horse — but Celeste did get to see Sint Niklaas in his miter and cape.

When her name was called, Evelin took Celeste up to the front of the room. Celeste did not want to sit on his lap, which Sint Niklaas was okay with. He then asked her if she'd been a good girl and she shook her head no. He still gave her a little bag of goodies — a cup, some plastic animals, crayons, and a coloring book of images from the St. Nicholas Center — and she signed THANK YOU back to him ... so even if she thinks she hasn't been a good girl, at least she was polite.

Technoarti tags:

No comments: