Decorating & Design
Burgers Architecture celebrate the holidays, Dutch-Style
Updated on November 17, 2023
When Robert and Marieke Burgers first emigrated to Vancouver from The Netherlands in 1967, they were quick to assimilate to Canadian culture. The couple founded their firm, Burgers Architecture, in 1980. “They embraced everything about the West Coast, including skiing, sailing and contemporary architecture,” says Mary Burgers, the firm’s creative director (and their daughter-in-law.) The traditions of home still beckon, though, especially during the holiday season, which is a welcome opportunity to return to their roots.
On December 5, the Burgers celebrate Sinterklaas, or Saint-Nicholas, the Dutch holiday. The celebration is centered around family, food and gathering. The firm truly is a family affair: Cedric, the couple’s eldest son, now helms the studio as lead architect, and there’s no shortage of successful artists in their clan: their daughter, Canadian artist Bobbie Burgers, occasionally provides paintings for the firm’s projects.
We spoke to senior interior designer and matriarch Marieke Burgers about their Sinterklaas traditions, favorite holiday recipes and how small decorating touches tie it all together.
Scroll down to see how the Burgers celebrate the holidays, Dutch-style.
HOUSE & HOME: What’s it like to celebrate Sinterklaas?
MARIEKE BURGERS: Sinterklaas or, formally, Saint-Nicholas, is a legendary figure celebrated in The Netherlands as the patron saint of children. Every year, he arrives in Amsterdam on December 6 to great fanfare, riding his white horse. Traffic stops, work stops, schools go out — it’s a joyful chaos.
Sinterklaas is about traditional foods, and the kitchen is bustling with dinner preparations: bitterballen or meatballs from a specialty store, a modern, lighter version of pea soup, a variety of Dutch cheeses and speculaas made with vintage wooden molds from Holland. And, of course, a chocolate initial at each table setting.
H&H: Why is the holiday important to your family?
MB: We’ve kept up this tradition in Canada, because it’s too precious to leave behind. It’s an evening of great hilarity extended over several dinner courses, toasts and impromptu speeches. It’s our connection to our Dutch heritage tied in to our love of family celebrations.
H&H: How do you decorate?
MB: This is the time where I dust off the vintage toys to be displayed in prominent places. There are the old nutcrackers, the music box gifted to me years ago and the towering pyramid Robert and I purchased at our first Christmas Market in Europe.
H&H: What’s your favorite part of the evening?
MB: As we sit down for dinner, we each take our turn reading a poem for a selected guest while the others try to guess who it is. It’s a slowed-down evening — there’s no rush to open presents.
My family would say the best part is the food… there’s always a mad rush to the bitterballen!
H&H: How can we integrate these holiday traditions into our own?
MB: Christmas eve dinner would be an excellent time for anonymous gifting, accompanied by a tender or cheeky poem. For us, the precious poems are bundled over time into a capsule, and we add to the collection each year.
Kyrani Kanavaros
Foliage: Bloomier
Marieke Burgers