The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas In Blackface

In the Dutch culture, Saint Nicholas has a helper named “Zwarte Piet,” or Black Pete, and every Christmas the Dutch put on blackface and dress up like him. posted on December 5, 2012 at 9:42am EST

Ryan Broderick BuzzFeed Staff posted about 5 months ago

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The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas In Bl...

Ryan Broderick

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10. A quick explanation of Black Pete:

In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet (meaning Black Pete) is a companion of Saint Nicholas whose yearly feast in the Netherlands is usually celebrated on the evening of 5 December (Sinterklaas-avond, that is, St. Nicholas Eve) and 6 December in Belgium, when they distribute sweets and presents to all good children.

Via: en.wikipedia.org

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helwel 5 months ago

Black Pete isn’t considered blackface over here in Belgium.
That would be like calling the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions in Spain KKK-gatherings. It’s a costume, not a culture. Get over it.
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Adam M. thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF & LOL about 5 months ago ×
jessicas49 thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is LOL about 5 months ago ×
leggylemons 5 months ago

Lol, wat?
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smorgasborddd thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is Ew & WTF about 5 months ago ×
katy the kid 5 months ago

happened to be in amsterdam around christmastime a few years ago. petes everywhere; belaying down buildings even. so high; so bewildered.
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Sievert Schreiber The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... about 5 months ago ×
berenice thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF, Trashy & Fail about 5 months ago ×
camillek3 The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... and thinks it’s Cute & Win about 5 months ago ×
heathere7 thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF about 5 months ago ×
kerrit2 thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF about 5 months ago ×
Nathansgirl thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is LOL about 5 months ago ×
amy swiney thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF about 5 months ago ×
ericah11 thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is Fail about 5 months ago ×
Leron V thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF about 5 months ago ×
whalane thinks The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas ... is WTF & LOL about 5 months ago ×
Tobias Agricola 5 months ago

Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas (except maybe that Sinterklaas is the origin of Santa Claus). So if you are gonna hate on our traditions (which is fair enough) at least get it Right!
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Mozart The Cat 5 months ago

Yeah, Black Peter is a tradition that needs to go away. Time to step out of the 17th century and into the 21st.
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- Nevernude 5 months ago
  
  Why does it need to go away?
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hagen 5 months ago

I’m an American living in the Netherlands, and yeah this tradition makes me really uncomfortable. But the Netherlands don’t have the same nasty tradition with blackface that America does, so I don’t think they see it in the same way- although there are plenty of Dutch people who think Zwarte Piet is a racist tradition and want it changed. Also, to the people saying he’s black from the chimney soot, this is a more recent politically correct way of explaining the tradition. Zwarte Piet is originally either a Moorish slave of Sinterklaas, or a demon that Sinterklaas vanquished and then enslaved. The origin isn’t completely clear. But the soot explanation is a recent thing.
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Nevernude 5 months ago

All Central European cultures have a “black guy” who accompanies Santa. We use these dudes to scare our children into behaving. And sure, black face isn’t *totally* PC, so I can understand why Americans would get bent out of shape. But at the same time, really? We grant all of our citizens the right to marry, have more harmonious race relations, provide everyone with access to comprehensive education and healthcare, lead on the world’s “happiness spectrum”, have practically nonexistent gun violence, earn the highest salaries in the world, etc. So, I’d say we get a pass on the black face. Just let us celebrate our ancient tradition in peace.
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- andrewk32 5 months ago
  
  Totally agree. We have a saying in the UK. Don’t measure others by your own yard stick
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- midas554613 5 months ago
  
  ^ THIS
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ericah11 5 months ago

And if I recall correctly (as told through an ex-pat friend I was staying with in Amsterdam) children who are not rewarded with Candy for being bad are shoved in his henchmen’s sacks and taken to SPAIN since this is where he hails from. Sure. It’s just ‘Soot’ .. horribly backwards …
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melissam17 5 months ago

He’s supposed to be soot covered but way to try to screw up things to your perspective of the world.
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Kay L 5 months ago

He’s actually black because he gets covered in soot when he comes down the chimney. They experimented having rainbow colored Pete’s a few years back, but no one liked it.
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- mekki 5 months ago
  
  Then what is with the the afro wigs and the exaggerated red lips? Never seen a chimney sweep with that.
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The Netherlands Celebrates Christmas In Blackface

10. A quick explanation of Black Pete:

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