SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS AGO, Spanish kings controlled the Netherlands. The Spanish court sent governors to look after Dutch ports and bishops to look after Dutch souls. From time to time, a Spanish bishop would appear in Holland and make himself known by distributing gifts to children and the needy. That is why Dutch children can tell you with assuredness all about Sinterklaas, as they call Saint Nicholas. Sinterklaas lives in Spain and visits the Netherlands once a year dressed in a bishop’s red finery.
