To Sint or not to Sint?

We're almost in December, last month of the year, month of Christmas and New Year Eve (and my birthday, yay!) Being the international family that we are, it's also the month for Sinterklaas.

Sinterklaas is celebrated mostly in Flemish and Ducth areas of influence. Which is an elegant way of saying part of northeast France and also Surinam . Anyway, this chap Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicolas, or Sint , is clearly the "inspiration" for the Santa Claus figure, they bear an uncanny resemblance, bar the stuffy fur-trimmed suit that Santa Claus wears courtesy of some people in advertising. 

I won't bother you with all the details of the Sint's figure (you have Wikipedia for that) Main difference is that the Belgo/Dutch "Sint" comes either on the eve of the 5th December or the morning on the 6th (for the Dutch is on the 5th, for the Belgians on the 6th). When I first arrive in Belgium and heard about Sinterklaas, my first thought was this coming on the 6th of December and then the coming 'again' of Santa Claus on the 24th was a bit of an overload of presents and downright confusing for kids. Turns out, the two are not equally celebrated, with the Sint amply kicking Santa's red derriere in the popularity polls in Belgium and Nederlands. Children in Belgium tend to get the most important present through the Sint and then something a bit more restrained on Christmas Eve. Also, to my knowledge, the Sinterklaas celebration is a nuclear family only business (mum, dad and children at home) while Christmas is really the getting together of the extended family thing.

Anyway, this whole explanation comes because I am wondering, besides getting Bibu the toy yellow excavator of his dreams as a present from the Sint, if we should do the whole bells and whistles proper celebration and ask him to put his shoes out and leave food for Sint's horse the eve of the 5th, as most kids do in Belgium, or not. I never really believed in Santa Claus, but I did believe in the Three Kings that come in January (oh, I've forgotten about those) and I guess this is all part of his culture, and he has two sets of celebrations to benefit from. It's just that it bothers me quite a lot that Christmas everywhere in the world tends to be only about presents and bearded fat men in ridiculous red suits and zilch about the birth of Jesus and all that. Not that I am the most religious person in the world, far from it, but I wonder what would most kids say if asked what do we actually celebrate in Christmas..........

You know I'm back, I'm back, I'm really, really back! (and baking)

And, another month (and a bit) has run by........swoooooosh!

I will not bother you with the not blogging in ages situation, as I usually do, ha. Instead, look!

Yes, I've been baking! Not that I have been busy baking this beauty for a month, though. In case you are wondering, it's a ham, cheese and onion (and cherry tomato) tart, done completely from scratch, dough (or should I say pie pastry?) included. Thing is, you cannot get a decent ready made pie crust here in Tokyo, not even at the nearby overpaid expats' supermarket. All I've found in the past is some puff pastry squares that are just too delicate and disintegrate at first glance. The dough recipe comes from an Argentinian cooking book that my brother and sister in law gave me last time I was there. It's full of staple homely and old fashioned recipes, and I love it.

Besides the baking, I have finally acted upon my desire to say "adios" to Nearby Posh Gym, and have resorted to do some exercise at home with a DVD and use the bicycle as much as I can. The bicycle bit is going great, I have even gotten over my fear of carrying Bibu in the child seat for fear of falling and I am doing the school run in two wheels, iuhoooooo! The DVD part is patchy, to say the least and if I can manage two times a week is an achievement. At this rate, my plans to shed 5 kilos before I arrive in Buenos Aires next month will continue to remain wishful thinking. Oh, well.....

Talking about the BA trip this year, still need to do lots of organising bits and pieces, such as securing a couple of domestic trips for my parents in law, who will come with us for the first time. We're already made the arrangements for a trip to the wine regions of Chile and Mendoza with them and my parents, so at least we will escape the oven that is BA in the summer for a few days. Also, looking forward to seeing my brother and sister in law and other friends and family over there. It' been long, over a year now, and I miss them.

Bibu is growing at a demented speed. Not only is he growing very tall, but also his talking skills and overall transition from baby to little boy are incredible. He's very very funny and a sweet boy most of the time. The rest, he is, well, a two-and-a-half little gremlin. Not different from most other children that age, I guess. He's still not entirely into toilet training, but he has promised he will use the toilet at his grandma's house in BA. At least the floors are easy to clean over there.....hehehe. He continues to be fascinated by dinosaurs, monsters, spiders, cars, trains, construction trucks and excavators. And singing, and dancing, and wanting his mamma to dance with him on impromptu dances in the living room. Really looking forward to taking him in BA. Will have a great time.

Right. TTFN or 'ta-ta for now', as Tigger would say. I am hoping my next post will be before we go to BA. let's cross fingers!

LAST MINUTE: in case you were wondering, Belgium still has no government. It does have lots of flooding at the moment