Santa Claus comes early to Amsterdam

Christmas will be coming to town early this year for those on a holiday to Amsterdam this winter, it has been reported.

Amsterdam's Festive Parade takes place on 16th November and will see Father Christmas, better known in Holland as Saint Nicholas, arrive in the capital by ship before riding through the streets of Amsterdam on a white horse.

"We're lucky to be in Amsterdam. Santa Claus comes to us earlier than anybody else every year so we don't have so long to wait…people love going to the Christmas markets, too and, while Santa Claus is in charge, we always have a good time," Jolanda van den Beuken, reservation manager at AmstelBotel told Travel Mole.

Traditionally, Saint Nick is assisted in his distribution of sweets to children in the streets of Amsterdam by 500 Black Peters.

According to folklore, Saint Nicholas had a servant called Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter, whose skin was black from climbing down chimneys in order to deliver presents.