Santa Pope
December 24, 2009 11:39 PM Subscribe
6 to 8 Black Men. Christmas in the Netherlands as described by David Sedaris (SLYT)
we're having a white christmas.
and Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas.
posted by Substrata at 12:25 AM on December 25, 2009
and Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas.
posted by Substrata at 12:25 AM on December 25, 2009
Sinterklaas is on December 6.
posted by NekulturnY at 12:37 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by NekulturnY at 12:37 AM on December 25, 2009
Well, December 5 in the Netherlands. 6 in Belgium.
posted by NekulturnY at 12:37 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by NekulturnY at 12:37 AM on December 25, 2009
Gelukkig kerstfeest mefi.
posted by joost de vries at 12:46 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by joost de vries at 12:46 AM on December 25, 2009
I, strangely, have not read any of Sedaris' work, despite consistently cracking up when I hear bits of it. I should fix this.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 12:49 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 12:49 AM on December 25, 2009
St. Nicholas Center: "Discovering the Truth about Santa Claus".
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:19 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:19 AM on December 25, 2009
This is the guy the Americans made into Santa (by making him drink Coca Cola and giving him a reindeer, I suppose), but actually it is not part of Christmas. Fat Santa came back from the US and is now of course also the main attraction in Europe (well, besides that Jesus fellow, I guess).
This also leads to Sinterklaas-Santa rivalry of course, which is currently still slightly in favor of Sinterklaas, as far as I know.
posted by Harry at 1:29 AM on December 25, 2009
This also leads to Sinterklaas-Santa rivalry of course, which is currently still slightly in favor of Sinterklaas, as far as I know.
posted by Harry at 1:29 AM on December 25, 2009
Came up a couple of weeks ago in an Ask Mefi thread--there's some interesting discussion there.
posted by col_pogo at 2:29 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by col_pogo at 2:29 AM on December 25, 2009
I, strangely, have not read any of Sedaris' work, despite consistently cracking up when I hear bits of it. I should fix this.
Don't read it. Seriously, it's a million times more funny delivered over audio. David Sedaris joins Sarah Vowell and John Hodgman in my list of excellent funny writers that are even better at doing stand up, so I always wait until the audiobook versions of their works come out and go with that instead of the printed page.
I've read one Sedaris book and heard it on an iPod and the iPod version was 10x funnier.
posted by mathowie at 2:52 AM on December 25, 2009 [2 favorites]
Don't read it. Seriously, it's a million times more funny delivered over audio. David Sedaris joins Sarah Vowell and John Hodgman in my list of excellent funny writers that are even better at doing stand up, so I always wait until the audiobook versions of their works come out and go with that instead of the printed page.
I've read one Sedaris book and heard it on an iPod and the iPod version was 10x funnier.
posted by mathowie at 2:52 AM on December 25, 2009 [2 favorites]
Re: Sedaris reading/listening
I found his books hilarious, and then once hearing his audio tracks found them just as funny when I could read his books with his voice in mind.
posted by smartypantz at 5:54 AM on December 25, 2009
I found his books hilarious, and then once hearing his audio tracks found them just as funny when I could read his books with his voice in mind.
posted by smartypantz at 5:54 AM on December 25, 2009
I have a Turkish friend who likes to tell people that Santa was a Turk. You should see the reactions from North Americans. A great SYTL, thank you I enjoyed that waiting for my kids to wake up and tear into their presents.
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen at 6:06 AM on December 25, 2009
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen at 6:06 AM on December 25, 2009
I take that back:
The Stadium Pal - I have read, heard and now watched this essay being read and by far seeing him read it is the best - he is so freaking hilarious!!!
posted by smartypantz at 6:15 AM on December 25, 2009 [1 favorite]
The Stadium Pal - I have read, heard and now watched this essay being read and by far seeing him read it is the best - he is so freaking hilarious!!!
posted by smartypantz at 6:15 AM on December 25, 2009 [1 favorite]
Can we find his reading of his (long) story of being a Christmas elf? I nearly went off the road laughing when I listened to that.
This post is great too. Love Sedaris.
posted by bearwife at 12:12 PM on December 25, 2009
This post is great too. Love Sedaris.
posted by bearwife at 12:12 PM on December 25, 2009
I must be a freak. I can't stand listening to his stuff, but everything I've read leaves me in tears of laughter.
posted by peep at 5:22 PM on December 25, 2009
posted by peep at 5:22 PM on December 25, 2009
Got my lazy self in gear and found a link with excerpts of Sedaris reading about his elf experience. Enjoy!
posted by bearwife at 6:32 PM on December 25, 2009
posted by bearwife at 6:32 PM on December 25, 2009
Link Description Tip:
The way to get the point across to Americans without annoying Dutch people by confusing Sinterklaas and Christmas, is to emphasize "the Netherlands' version of Santa Claus" rather than "Christmas in the Netherlands."
posted by edheil at 7:07 PM on December 25, 2009
The way to get the point across to Americans without annoying Dutch people by confusing Sinterklaas and Christmas, is to emphasize "the Netherlands' version of Santa Claus" rather than "Christmas in the Netherlands."
posted by edheil at 7:07 PM on December 25, 2009
Sedaris is pretty good at milking the most tepid of witticisms for laughs.
posted by mrhappy at 9:13 AM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by mrhappy at 9:13 AM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
This is the guy the Americans made into Santa (by making him drink Coca Cola
How I hate the "US Santa Claus was a Coca-Cola ad" myth. US Santa Claus was a 19th-century creation, spearheaded by Clement Clarke Moore's "Night Before Christmas" (1820s) Thomas Nast's 1860s-1880s illustrations.
Coca-Cola wasn't invented until 1886, and didn't go national until 1892. The first Coca-Cola ad with Santa Claus wasn't until 1931.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:43 PM on December 26, 2009
How I hate the "US Santa Claus was a Coca-Cola ad" myth. US Santa Claus was a 19th-century creation, spearheaded by Clement Clarke Moore's "Night Before Christmas" (1820s) Thomas Nast's 1860s-1880s illustrations.
Coca-Cola wasn't invented until 1886, and didn't go national until 1892. The first Coca-Cola ad with Santa Claus wasn't until 1931.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:43 PM on December 26, 2009
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posted by DreamerFi at 12:15 AM on December 25, 2009