Two gluten-free Piets will again take part in The Hague’s Sinterklaas celebrations this year, so that children who cannot eat ordinary sweets are not left out.
They will walk in the traditional arrival of Sinterklaas at Scheveningen Harbour on Saturday 14 November and in the procession through the city that follows.
The pair can be recognised by their green outfits.
Why gluten-free Piets are there
One in every 100 children in the Netherlands has coeliac disease, an auto-immune condition that requires a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet for medical reasons.
For those children the arrival of Sinterklaas is not always a celebration, because they cannot eat the kruidnoten handed out along the route.
Even a high five with a Piet can be risky, since crumbs on a glove are enough to make them ill.
The Hague is not alone: 545 gluten-free Piets will hand out 12,640 bags of kruidnoten at 386 arrivals across the country this year, a national record.
