Chocolate Letters

One of the biggest holidays in the Netherlands is December 5, the day that Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Santa Claus) rewards all the good children with various candies and presents. Sinterklaas will ride on his horse over the rooftops, followed by his helpers and put the gifts into children’s shoes (while also removing the carrot that they left inside for his horse).

Among these candies are chocolate letters. They will usually be the first initial of the child, but can also be an S for Sinterklaas, an M for Mama, and so on. The letters are traditionally available in white, dark, and milk chocolate variants, but these days many alternatives have popped up. M and W are among the most popular letters because people think that they’re bigger, even if all the pieces have the same weight to them. (smaller letters are typically thicker to compensate). The font used is typically Egyptienne, although there have been some experiments with more modern typefaces.