More on Odin, Valkyrie, Sinterklaas, and Family!

Odin is the Norse all-father. God of gods. The one-eyed wise one. Under upper-Germanic tribes, roughly between 500 BC and 800 AD, he was called Wotan. In the Low Countries and England people knew him as Wodan. Odin is Wodan is Wotan.

Odin rode the skies on a white horse with eight legs that was called Sleipnir. Especially around the winter solstice, he did so followed by his loyal helpers, the Valkyrie. Female entities that helped the dying souls find the way to the heavens. As a result, a lot of climbing in and out of chimneys was going on, turning the Valkyrie - often depicted as ravens - black.

When the Low Countries were Christianized, from the 8th century onwards, by mostly Anglo-Saxon priests, that spoke basically the same language, they met a population that worshipped Wodan. The fathers of the church had the great idea to "replace" Wodan with the Christian figure of Saint-Nicholas, pretending he was the same person or god, but under a different name.

As a result, the Low Countries of Flanders, the Netherlands, and Lower Germany, still celebrate the old fellow now known as Sinterklaas (Saint-Nicholas). Sinterklaas is mostly a children's party now. He reads from his book and decides if children have been good or bad. The good ones get gifts, the bad ones ... well, nowadays everybody gets gifts! He still rides on a white horse, but in these times it is a horse with just four legs. His Valkyrie are now called Zwarte Piet and are indeed still black.

It was my privilege to be my family's Sinterklaas last night. My daughter Sylvie-Anne performed the role of Zwarte Piet. It was fun, a lot of fun. A tradition that I value with my whole heart. The most beautiful eye-opener I had was with our grand-daughter. She was clearly afraid of Sinterklaas. And she should be. He is a strange fellow and he judges!

When I, I mean Sinterklaas, asked her if she was also afraid of her grand-father, she said: "No, he is nice and sweet!" Children ... may we ever create a world like Sinterklaas does. Where we cherish and support them, where we teach them about good and bad, where they learn about family and values and the celebration of shared fun and and mutual support.

Have a great holiday season, all of you! Mine has started the best way possible. I hope yours does too. There is too much turmoil in the world to speak to you about peace. I want to keep it simpler this year: stay close to each other, enjoy and embrace your family, and take care of one another. If we can figure the small stuff out, the big goals might just follow automatically ...

Regards, Odin & Team

Sinterklaas wishes you a great holiday season ...

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet ...

Creating amazing family memories ...

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