Santa Claus in Holland: Zwarte Piet and Saint Nicholas
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Following up on the American Humanist post I thought you would find it interesting to see how Santa is portrayed in another country:
Santa and Black Pete
In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Flanders, Zwarte Piet ( pronunciation (help·info)) (meaning Black Pete) is a companion of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas) whose yearly feast in the Netherlands is usually on the evening of 5 December (Sinterklaas-avond, that is St. Nicolas Eve) and 6 December in Flanders, when they distribute presents to all good children.
The character of Zwarte Piet appears only in the weeks before Saint Nicholas’s feast, first when the saint is welcomed with a parade as he arrives in the country (in the Netherlands by steam boat, from Spain), and is mainly targeted at children, who come to meet the saint as he visits stores, schools etc. He is sometimes associated with Knecht Ruprecht, but in the Low Countries the tradition has not merged with Christmas.
During recent years the role of Zwarte Piet has become part of a recurring debate in the Netherlands. Present-day observations in the Netherlands under controversy include holiday revellers blackening their faces, wearing afro wigs and bright red lipstick, and walking the streets throwing candy to passers-by.
Foreign tourists, particularly Americans, often experience culture shock upon encountering the character. Since the last decade of the 20th century there have been several attempts to introduce a new kind of Zwarte Piet to the Dutch population. These Zwarte Pieten have replaced the traditional black make-up with all sorts of colours. These multi-colored Pieten are unpopular amongst the Dutch population and are not catching on.
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7:26 PM
Weird. Just weird.
7:57 PM
The Dutch portrayal of Christmas would not be politicaly correct in the U.S. It would invite acidic vitriol for the display of the cross on Santa’s hat and also for Santa having a zwarte helper. Jesse, Al and the rest of the race baiters would have a field day.
10:56 AM
He could almost pass for America’s Coco-Cola Santa
I think they must be related, maybe they are cousins?
7:37 PM
I was thinking Dutch Uncle.
1:34 PM
While in Maastricht for Carnival (Yes, they have a carnival) some years back, I would notice some of the revelers wearing Afro’s and black face. I asked my Dutch friends about it and their attitude was that dressing up like this did not have the same racially sensitive connotation that it had back in the States. Now I had also seen this before in Barcelona during a street festival while with my girlfriend (now my wife) and she was very bothered by it. I tried to explain as best I could but she wasn’t having any of it.
.-= vulcanhammer´s last blog ..The Heat Is On! =-.
1:52 PM
Harrison, thanks for posting this. Fascinating.
Exit question: wouldn’t the multi-color “Piet” be offensive as a cultural white-washing (no pun intended) as Piet’s “blackness” is being de-emphasized?
4:56 AM
Hey there,
I life in the Netherlands and as it happens the Sinterklaas feast is centuries old. Its not a replacement for Santa Claus as we know him as well in the Netherlands as Christmas is more the christian way.
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