chocolate letter

St. Nicholas Center; explains the origin and current use of chocolate letters in the Netherlands.

Another large man with a white beard arrived a few weeks ago, bearing large chocolate letters representing the recipients' initials.

In the meantime, Droste's assortment had grown to numerous cocoa and chocolate products, the famous Dutch chocolate letters included.

Chocolate letters are a form of candy associated with the Dutch holiday of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas).

Seasonal specials include Christmas stollen, Dutch chocolate letters, Berliner for New Year's Eve and Easter eggs filled with house-made truffles.

And most of the time I can remember that I hate pesticides, too, until the moment when the chocolate letter "I" on the cake begins to boogie to the strains of "Happy Birthday."

Typical Sinterklaas treats traditionally include: hot chocolate, mandarin oranges, pepernoten, letter-shaped pastry filled with almond paste or chocolate letter (the first letter of the child's name made out of chocolate), speculaas (sometimes filled with almond paste), chocolate coins and marzipan figures.

So if you want to find out more about the tradition of the chocolate letters, or about the Sinterklaas tradition of writing poems as gifts to be read aloud on the eve of the feast (Dec. 5), there's no need to hop on a plane, even though the Dutch are worth the ride.