Pancake on your head, thumbs up and smile. Then wish everyone a happy and blessed ‘Saint Pannekoek’ and your day can not go wrong. Every year on November 29, this modest party is celebrated, togetherness is of paramount importance.
First to clear up some confusion. Because the spelling of the word panne(n)koek has undoubtedly already led to some heated discussions. Yes or no ‘n’ in between? According to the official Dutch spelling, ‘pannenkoek’ is correct. But to make the confusion even bigger: Sint Pannekoek is written without ‘n’ in between.
How is that possible? Actually, the explanation is very simple. The party dates back to a time when baking was noted without an intermediate n. And oh, no matter how you write the word, the pancakes still taste, even if there is a fly in the flour.
For the origins of Sint Pannekoek, we have to go back to the year 1986. The tradition then first gets attention in the comic strip ‘Jan, Jans and the children’, drawn by artist Jan Kruis from Westerbork. In that strip, Catootje sits at the table with grandpa Tromp, eating beans, until they come to the conclusion that they really don’t feel like eating beans at all. In pancakes.
Grandpa Tromp then spontaneously declares the 29th of November Saint Pannekoek. “That’s a very old Rotterdam tradition. That you didn’t know that,” he says with a grin. He suggests that the lady of the house bakes a stack of pancakes and that all family members give Papa Jan a warm welcome in the evening with the baked goods on their heads. Grandpa Tromp says that this used to be the case when papa Jan was still small. Mother Jans is immediately enthusiastic, puts the beans in the freezer and gets to work.
No sooner said than done. Father Jan comes home that day stunned when everyone wishes him a ‘happy and blessed Sint Pannekoek’. “I’m afraid they’re completely blown away now,” he reacts in astonishment to the scene.
This year the Jan Kruis museum in Orvelte is holding a drawing competition. Children were allowed to color in a coloring page and the winners will be announced today. To make it even more festive, the children are rewarded with pancakes, of course. A total of forty children participated in the competition.
Furthermore, as far as is known, there are no meetings in Drenthe, but one should not spoil a pancake for an egg. In other words, something small can’t ruin the bigger picture. Bake well today. And have fun.
Watch the video below in which artist Jan Kruis himself reads the comic from the Libelle: