Traditions
One traditional festival in The Netherlands is the feast of Sinterklaas. It is celebrated on the evening before Sinterklaas' birthday on December 5, especially in families with little children. In the United States the original figure of Dutch Sinterklaas has merged with Father Christmas into Santa Claus. In The Netherlands, gift-bringing at Christmas has in recent decades gained some popularity too, but Sinterklaas is much more popular.
A wide spread tradition is that of serving “beschuit met muisjes” when people come to visit a new-born baby and his mother. “Beschuit” is a typical Dutch type of biscuit and muisjes are sugared anise seeds.