The Netherlands: A Very Controversial Christmas

Ah yes, the Christmas season is quickly approaching!  There is so much to look forward to: holiday films, beautifully lit buildings, good food, and here in the Netherlands, Zwarte Piet. Wait who?  Some of you may know about the tradition of Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete,  the character that helps jolly old Sinterklaas deliver gifts to the nice and capture the naughty.  Essentially, Zwarte Piet is Santa's helper, but he is often portrayed by people in blackface.  Sinterklaas celebrations are an absolute clash of tradition and political correctness.  It is a very odd tradition to witness, especially if you come from one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. 

Source: www.nu.nl 

Zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas at a celebration in 2013

Each November, Sinterklaas and hordes of Zwarte Piets enter the Netherlands by boat from Spain.  They then steamboat through the nation’s many waterways to bring gifts to all of the nice children.  Sinterklaas is a traditional Santa character with his white beard and red attire, while the Pieten are a bit odd to the non-Dutch eye.  These characters are often played by people wearing black paint all over their bodies with overdrawn red lips, dark curly haired wigs, golden earrings, and clothing that resembles what slaves would be dressed in at the markets.  There are often hundreds of Zwarte Piets on the streets, handing out candy to children.  Kids love him, he is the bearer of gifts and no one leaves these celebrations without a smile or a bag full of sticky sweet candy.  

Zwarte Piet is a very controversial character, and not just to people from outside the Netherlands.  In the past few years, there have been an overwhelming amount of protests at these early December celebrations by people who found the blackface offensive.  These protesters were often faced with physical and verbal violence.  In 2015 and 2016, large department stores, television networks, and some Dutch cities, banned the use of black paint at Sinterklaas celebrations and have opted for Pieten with less offensive appearances.  These efforts have been faced with backlash for changing tradition.  People hate when someone interferes with tradition, *cough, cough* a lot of people in the U.S. with gun control, abortion, immigration and practically anything and everything.

C. Nunez

Pieten at the Amsterdam celebration in Dam Square

C. Nunez

Pieten scaling a building in Dam Square

I decided to go to the Sinterklaas celebrations in Amsterdam this year.  I had hundreds of conflicting feelings about attending an event that has been historically offensive to people who are black.  Amsterdam has banned the use of blackface during these celebrations so, I thought it would be okay.  None of the Pieten featured in the parade had the offensive paint, but were rather covered in "chimney soot" to make it appear as if they were delivering gifts to children that morning.  Many of them still had the dark, curly wigs, the red lips, the colonial outfit, and the earrings.  There were a handful of children with actual black paint fully covering their faces in the crowd, a lot fewer than I would have expected from a celebration this large-- according to Sinterklaas' website (he obviously coded it himself), over 40,000 people on average attend.  

So is this tradition going away anytime soon? No. Tradition takes a long time to change, and I honestly think there will always be people who never really believe that a non-black Zwarte Piet is good enough.  There will probably always be remnants of the Dutch colonial past in this tradition.  So many small towns across the Netherlands still have blackface as a central part of their costuming for Sinterklaas events.  I think it is great that the organizers of events in larger cities are trying to accommodate what protesters want, but at the same time, the character himself will always be a reminder of slavery, of the black struggle, of racism and intolerance.  I don't think I can make a judgement on whether the Dutch should eliminate the character or not because this is not my culture nor my tradition. There are some who suggest getting rid of Zwarte Piet, and others who just want to modify him.  I do, however, believe that it will take time to determine Zwarte Piet's new place in the Sinterklaas tradition, and after all, the kids just want their candy.