The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
There was dancing, there was singing, there were goodies.
They all marked the annual appearance of Sinterklaas at the Hageman House barn on South Middlebush Road Dec. 6.
Visitors to the event were treated to an exhibition of Klompen Dancing, a Dutch tradition in which dancers wear wooden shoes, and a selection of Christmas carols by the Franklin High School Madrigal Singers.
But the real focus of the day was on Sinterklaas. The Dutch holiday patriarch arrived on a white horse, carrying his “Big Red Book” that tradition says is filled with notes on children that he’d been keeping all year.
After greeting the visitors, Sinterklaas settled into a seat reserved for him and the children lined up to to speak with him and receive a treat.
Some even sang to him, with “Sinterklaas, Kapoentje” (St. Nicholas, My Dear One) being the favorite tune.
The event has been sponsored by the Meadows Foundation, which maintains the Hageman House, as well as other historic homes in the township, since the 1970s.
2015 Sinterklaas at Hageman House
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