Delft // Lichtjesavond (Light Festival)

Much to our surprise, our little town of Delft is actually a pretty active hub for events and celebrations in South Holland. At the beginning of December Delft thought a huge Lichtjesavond (Light Festival) to shine light on Delft before the "dark days" came. This is symbolic way of giving light to the residence of Delft during the "Dark Days of Delft" (which is very intimidating for a California girl...). We ventured out into the City Center to experience this event, and man, we were surprised: the main canals were lit with colorful lights; there were tons of stalls set up all throughout the town selling delicious gluhwein (spiced wine), cider, handmade crafts and treats; there was a huge choir singing christmas songs in the main square and tons of smaller groups dressed up in traditional dutch attire on other street corners; and to top it off, there was the lighting of the gigantic christmas tree in the main square. Hundreds of people showed up from all over the Netherlands to attend the festival and we felt proud of our little town for throwing such a successful and super fun celebration. 

Also, Jack got to pet an owl at the kid's petting zoo, which was probably the highlight of the night.