It’s the holiday season and The incredible Dr Pol star, Michigan veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol shares a beloved Christmas tradition from his childhood.
Learn about the memories that made the vacation so special for the Pol family.
Dr Pol remembered how he celebrated Christmas as a young boy in the Netherlands
Appearing on Home & Family in 2020, the dutch-born vet recalled his holiday traditions at home and those he and his wife, Diane, and their family now practice.
“Well, Christmas was not a big party in the Netherlands,†he shared. “It was more ‘going to church and celebrating the birth of Christ’.”
“Sinterklaas is still there and it was called St. Nicholas Day, so we still do it here, of course, because we like to carry on that Dutch tradition, â€he said. “Especially now with our granddaughter, Abigail, who is a little darling, of course.”
Wooden shoes play a special role in one of Dr Pol’s favorite Christmas traditions
The doc went on to say that part of the Dutch Christmas tradition involves their wooden clogs. And of course, Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, was celebrated every December 5 in the Netherlands. “Saint Nicholas was a saint that came from Spain on a sailboat with a white horse and his helpers and he would go around and reward kids who were good or sometimes punish kids who weren’t so good,†Dr. Pol on his Youtube Channel.
Explaining how the reward or punishment system would play out, the vet continued, “People would put our wooden shoes on by the fireplace, and the next morning there was candy in there or something. And if you were a bad boy, you would put coal in there! “
The Poles continued the tradition with their own children, he added: “Diane would write a little poem about how [the children] were. It’s something for kids, really. If you’re in the Netherlands the fun thing is until December 5th, it’s all Saint Nicholas. That night, they change all the storefronts and they go right back to the great American Christmas presentation. It’s funny.”
Diane Pol said it was one of her favorite Christmas presents
On the Dr. Pol Presents YouTube channel, members of the Pol family discussed their favorite holiday gifts each has received over the years. For Diane, Dr Pol’s wife, it was a gift from her husband that mattered the most. But it was the way he presented the gift to her that caught her attention.
“I received a lot of really nice gifts, but I think the one that I really remember, and we still talk about it, is that daddy found a Dutch clock,†Diane said.
Dr Pol went on to say, “It was one of the funniest things because I just didn’t give it to him; I hung !
Diane added: “We were opening Christmas presents and all of a sudden I heard this clock strike. And I thought, ‘What is this? Where is that from ? Of course, I cried.
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