Uploads from Marco Sombroek, with geodata

Wormer en Jisperveld

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:20:37 -0700

Taken with a Samsung Galaxy S Plus

Polder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments (barriers) known as dikes that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually operated devices. There are three types of polder:
Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the sea bed.
Flood plains separated from the sea or river by a dike.
Marshes separated from the surrounding water by a dike and subsequently drained.
The ground level in drained marshes subsides over time and thus all polders will eventually be below the surrounding water level some or all of the time. Water enters the low-lying polder through water pressure of ground water, or rainfall, or transport of water by rivers and canals. This usually means that the polder has an excess of water, which is pumped out or drained by opening sluices at low tide. Care must be taken not to set the internal water level too low. Polder land made up of peat (former marshland) will sink in relation to its previous level, because of peat decomposing in dry conditions.

The Netherlands is frequently associated with polders. This is illustrated by the English saying: God created the world but the Dutch created Holland.
The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, resulting in some 3,000 polders[1] nationwide. About half the total surface area of polders in north-west Europe is in the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century. As a result of flooding disasters water boards called waterschap (when situated more inland) or hoogheemraadschap (near the sea, mainly used in the Holland region)[2] were set up to maintain the integrity of the water defences around polders, maintain the waterways inside a polder and control the various water levels inside and outside the polder. Water bodies hold separate elections, levy taxes and function independently from other government bodies. Their function is basically unchanged even today. As such they are the oldest democratic institution in the country.

Catherinahoeve Zaanse Schans

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:09:24 -0800

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Zaanse Schans

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:49 -0800

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Catherinahoeve

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:48 -0800

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Windmill art

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:51 -0800

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Windmills of the Zaanse Schans

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:51 -0800

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Catherinahoeve

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:49 -0800

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Dancing Petes

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:23 -0800

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In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet ( pronunciation (help·info)) (meaning Black Pete) is a companion of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas) whose yearly feast in the Netherlands is usually celebrated on the evening of 5 December (Sinterklaas-avond, that is, St. Nicholas Eve) and 6 December in Belgium, when they distribute sweets and presents to all good children.
The characters of Zwarte Pieten appear only in the weeks before Saint Nicholas's feast, first when the saint is welcomed with a parade as he arrives in the country (generally by boat, having traveled from Madrid, Spain). The tasks of the Zwarte Pieten are mostly to amuse children, and to scatter pepernoten, Kruidnoten and "strooigoed" (special sinterklaas-candies) for those who come to meet the saint as he visits stores, schools, and other places.
The original Zwarte Piet is sometimes associated with Knecht Ruprecht, but in the Low Countries the tradition has not merged with Christmas.

History
1845: Jan Schenkman writes Saint Nicholas and his Servant; Piet is described in this book as a page, and is depicted as a dark man wearing clothes associated with a moor. Steamboat travel becomes part of the mythos from this point. In the 1850 version of Schenkman's book, they are depicted looking much as they do today. In later editions Piet was shown in the page costume, the book stayed (with some changes) in print until 1950 and can be seen as the foundation of the current celebration, even though it did use a lot of older ideas and customs.[1]
1891: in the book Het Feest van Sinterklaas the servant is named Pieter, until 1920 there were several books giving him other names, and in live appearances the name and looks still varied considerably.
In the early 20th century the Civilized Standard Celebration for children, with Zwarte Piet as the standard personal servant of the saint, spread throughout the country. In the 1930s urban adults become more involved too and the arrival of Saint Nicholas and his Zwarte Pieten are staged, which more or less explains the shift from the 6th to the 5th of December, as the adults would celebrate on the eve of the saint's day.
During the 20th century, the number of Sinterklaas' servants multiplied. This paradigm shift opened possibilities to create (for TV and such) lots of different characters being a "Zwarte Piet" at the same time. For example, there's a "Hoofd Piet" (Head Piet) who carries the book of Sinterklaas, "Rijm Piet" (Rhyme Piet), et cetera. Especially during the televised yearly event, when Sinterklaas arrives by boat he is often assisted by dozens of Piets.
The Dutch now celebrate Sinterklaas (5 December) with an exchange of gifts. These presents are given anonymously, but are often accompanied by poems (Sinterklaasgedicht), signed by "Zwarte Piet" or "Sint", which are read aloud during Sinterklaas evening for the enjoyment of the ones assembled. The poems often are teasing in nature.
[edit]Origin and evolution

The first origin of Sinterklaas and his helpers can probably found in the Wild Hunt of Wodan Riding the white horse Sleipnir he flew through the air as the leader of the Wild Hunt. He was always accompanied by two black ravens, Huginn and Muninn. [2] Those helpers would listen, just like Zwarte Piet, at the chimney - which was just a hole in the roof at that time - to tell Wodan about the good and bad behaviours of the mortals.[3] During the Christianization, Pope Gregory I argued that conversions were easier if people were allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditions, while claiming that the traditions were in honour of the Christian God. Saint Nicolas tradition is one of them, converting Wodan to a Christian counterpart.[4]
According to myths dating to the beginning of the 19th century, Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) operated by himself or in the companionship of a devil. Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas Eve, the devil was shackled and made his slave. A devil as a helper of the Saint can also still be found in Austrian Saint Nicholas tradition in the character of Krampus.
Some sources indicate that in Germanic Europe, Zwarte Piet originally was such a mastered devil forced to assist his captor, but the character emerged in the 19th century within the Netherlands as a companion of Saint Nicholas resembling a Moor.[5] Saint Nicholas is said to come from Turkey. The relation of Zwarte Piet with Haji Firuz is notably close, Haji Firuz is a traditional herald of Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, exactly black in the face and comes with Amoo Norooz a white bearded old man who brings gifts for the children counterpart of Western Santa.
The introduction of this new Zwarte Piet was paired with a change in the attitude of the Sinterklaas character that was often shown as being quite rough against bad children himself and thought unbefitting of a Bishop by teachers and priests. Soon after the introduction of Zwarte Piet as Sinterklaas' helper, both characters adapted to a softer character.[6]
Still, the lyrics of older traditional Sinterklaas songs warn that while Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten will leave well-behaved children presents, they will punish those who have been very naughty. For example they will take bad children and carry these children off in a burlap sack to their homeland of Spain, where, according to legend, Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten dwell out of season. These songs and stories also warned that a child who has been only slightly naughty will not get a present, but a "roe", which is a bundle of birch twigs, (as a warning they could have gotten a birching instead) or will simply receive a lump of coal instead of gifts.
Until the second half of the 20th century, Saint Nicholas' helper was not too bright, in line with the old colonial traditions. Once immigration started from the former colonised countries Zwarte Piet became a much more respected assistant of Saint Nicholas, who is often a bit inattentive, but playfull.[7]
According to the more modern Saint Nicholas legend, a Zwarte Piet is a servant who accompanies Saint Nicholas on his holiday travels. In some versions, Saint Nicholas is said to have liberated a young slave named Peter, who decided to serve Nicholas. Zwarte Piet is today commonly depicted as a black person in the colorful pantaloons, feathered cap and ruffles of a Renaissance European page, a tradition that started based on a single illustration in a book published in 1850.
Zwarte Pieten are often portrayed as mischievous but rarely mean-spirited characters. The character is believed to have been derived from pagan traditions of evil spirits. Also told for decades is a story that the Zwarte Pieten are black because of chimney soot and/or in mockery of the darker Spanish occupiers of the Low Countries in centuries past.
[edit]Current affairs

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.
During recent years the role of Zwarte Pieten has become part of a recurring debate in the Netherlands. Controversial practices include holiday revellers blackening their faces and wearing afro wigs, gold jewelry and bright red lipstick,[8] and walking the streets throwing candy to passers-by.
Foreign tourists, particularly those from the United States and Britain[citation needed], often experience culture shock when encountering the character, as dressing in blackface is considered offensive in these and other countries. Since the 1990s, there have been several attempts to introduce a new kind of Zwarte Piet to the Dutch public, among them replacing traditional black makeup with various other shades of colors.[9] As an experiment in 2006, the NPS (en: Dutch Programme Foundation) replaced the black Pieten with rainbow-colored Pieten but reverted the characters back to the traditional all-black makeup a year later.[10]
The tradition continues to be popular in the Netherlands but some activists have protested against it. Four people wearing t-shirts with the words "Zwarte Piet is Racist" were arrested during the second weekend of November 2011.[11]
The largest Sinterklaas celebration in Western Canada, slated for December 3rd, 2011 in New Westminster, British Columbia, was cancelled for the first time since its inception in 1985 following a debate over the inclusion of Zwarte Piet. Rather than remove the character, the organizers cancelled the festivities entirely because, as spokesperson Tako Slump of the organization said: [12]
"We got a lot of replies back from our customers in the Dutch community. It became pretty clear to us that we love Sinterklaas and we can't have it without Black Peter. Those two go together."
In 2011, legislators in the former Dutch colony of Suriname stated that government-sanctioned celebrations involving Zwarte Piet were considered an insult to the "black part of Suriname's community."[13] Efforts have begun in the Republic to prevent future governmental promotions of the character.

Zwarte Piet / Black Pete

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:26 -0800

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Mooring

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:27 -0800

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Chit Chat

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:24 -0800

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In the Netherlands and Belgium, Saint Nicholas' Eve (5 December) is the primary occasion for gift-giving, when his reputed birthday is celebrated.
In the days leading up to 5 December (starting when Saint Nicholas has arrived by steamboat around mid-November), young children put their shoes in front of the chimneys and sing Sinterklaas songs. Often they put a carrot or some hay in the shoes, as a gift to St. Nicholas' horse. (In recent years the horse has been named Amerigo in The Netherlands and Slechtweervandaag in Flanders.) The next morning they will find a small present in their shoes, ranging from sweets to marbles or some other small toy. On the evening of 5 December, Sinterklaas brings presents to every child who has behaved well in the past year (in practice, just as with Santa Claus, all children receive gifts without distinction). This is often done by placing a bag filled with presents outside the house or living room, after which a neighbour or parent bangs the door or window, pretending to be Sinterklaas' assistant. Another option is to hire or ask someone to dress up as Sinterklaas and deliver the presents personally. Sinterklaas wears a bishop's robes including a red cape and mitre and is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful Moorish dress, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called 'Zwarte Pieten' ("Black Petes") or "Père Fouettard" in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
The myth is that, if a child had been naughty, the Zwarte Pieten put all the naughty children in sacks, and Sinterklaas took them to Spain (it is believed that Sinterklaas comes from Spain, where he returns after 5 December). Therefore, many Sinterklaas songs still allude to a watching Zwarte Piet and a judging Sinterklaas.
In the past number of years, there has been a recurrent discussion about the perceived politically incorrect nature of the Moorish helper. In particular Dutch citizens with backgrounds from Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles might feel offended by the Dutch slavery history connected to this emblem and regard the Zwarte Pieten to be racist. Others state that the black skin color of Zwarte Piet originates in his profession as a chimneysweep, hence the delivery of packages though the chimney. [25]
In recent years, Christmas (along with Santa Claus) has been pushed by shopkeepers as another gift-giving festival, with some success; although, especially for young children, Saint Nicholas' Eve is still much more important than Christmas. The rise of Father Christmas (known in Dutch as de Kerstman) is often cited as an example of globalisation and Americanisation.[26]
On the Frisian islands (Waddeneilanden), the Sinterklaas feast has developed independently into traditions very different from the one on the mainland.[27]

Source: Wikipedia

Welcome Sinterklaas

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:20 -0800

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Crow's nest

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:25 -0800

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Dag Sinterklaasje...

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:23 -0800

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Climbing down

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:27 -0800

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Candy

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:21 -0800

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Kruidnoten

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:22 -0800

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Kruidnoten are a cookie-like kind of confectionery, traditionally associated with the early December Sinterklaas holiday in the Netherlands.
People sometimes confuse Kruidnoten with Pepernoten.Kruidnoten (literally, 'spice nuts'), are harder, have a different colour and shape and are made using the same ingredients used for making speculaas.

Source: Wikipedia

Zwarte Piet / Black Pete

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:19 -0800

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Zwarte Piet / Black Pete

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:47:22 -0800

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De huisman

nobody@flickr.com (Marco Sombroek) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:36:50 -0800

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