1/1 Nispen is a big advent calendar this year. Every afternoon at five o’clock, a shutter rises and a window opens behind which a festive scene of Christmas.
Nispen is a big advent calendar this year. Every afternoon at five o’clock, a shutter rises and a window opens behind which a festive scene of Christmas. For example, the path of the Advent windows through the village near Roosendaal became longer and longer. “It’s really exciting every day.”
The event will be held for the first time this year. A villager in Switzerland saw it. “When she told us about it, we instantly got excited,” says Leonie Ojtdehag of the Nissen Cultural Foundation.
“We googled, but as far as we could find, it doesn’t happen anywhere in Brabant. It’s so fun and unique that we immediately started asking people if they wanted to participate and made their window available.”
“How cute, I thought. And right after that: Whoops, I’m not creative at all.”
The 24 requested recordings were received at any given time. And beautician Tess Schippers was soon convinced. “How cute, I thought. And right after that: Whoops, I’m not creative at all.” The solution was at hand. “My helpline? This was my best friend, who can decorate well.”
Not that all fears are gone in one fell swoop. “We started making ours on a Friday. Every time we saw something that didn’t go well and then started again. We ended up sitting tucked away in the store window for days until we were satisfied.”
“When you’re in it, you still feel pressure to make it something special.”
And then the big moment had yet to come. “The roller shutter will go up in a minute. That’s interesting. At first you think: let’s do it. But while you’re at it, you still feel pressure to make it something special. If you get involved in this, you ultimately want passersby to like it too.”
The latter is a must, as evidenced by the applause of the group of curious Nispenaren who attended the grand unveiling party. This is what often happens, Leoni says. The response in the village has been very positive. Everyone is happy with that.”
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