As an adoptive mother of an Ethiopian Panther, I’ve grown an extra pair of antennas when it comes to racism.
Truly, a lot of really nice people distinguish my daughter from other children, based on her color. Even if it is meant to defend her, like calling me disgusting for letting her carry the groceries, it basically still is hidden racism. Should I tell her that people believe she shouldn’t be helping me out because it reminds them of slavery while her white brother is allowed to do the same chores? I’d rather have people call me names than let them wreck my daughter’s self esteem.
However, as I’m writing this, there is a HUGE racism debate going on in Belgium and even worse in The Netherlands, where it all started. And despite my racism antennas, I just can’t fully agree with the racism-yellers this time. Not even if they yell all the way from some United Nations office.
The debate is all about the ancestor of Santa Claus: Sinterklaas. You can read here about how Santa Claus evolved from our Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, who is actually believed to be Turkish, who resides in Spain, has a white horse called Bad-Wheater-Today (Belgium) or Amerigo (The Netherlands), and celebrates his December birthday by coming over to our countries and surprising children with presents.
In the Netherlands he comes over on the evening of December 5th. Later that night, he comes to Belgium and delivers toys and sweets to be found in the children’s shoes on the morning of the 6th. It’s really a children’s celebration, full of magic and anticipation. You will bump into him just about everywhere during November.
Now, because Sinterklaas is getting old and forgetful, and has a lot of work to do within 24 hours, he has helpers. These helpers are all black, and hence all called ‘Black Peter’ (Zwarte Piet).
And that’s where all the accusative fingers point.
Indeed, this tradition can be seen as offensive. I, for a fact, believe it is partly based on a slavery and stereotype-loaded past, and a lot of people agree with me. Black Peter has long been depicted as a bit slow, barbaric (kidnapping and hitting the naughty children), dressed in clownish clothes, with stout lips and being submissive to his white boss.
Of course I agree this is an awful, insulting picture to brainwash our children with during the big Sinterklaas-Awaiting-Month-of -November. I also agree an outsider would be shocked, when he meets Sinterklaas and his Black Peters for the first time, especially if oblivious to the folklore. And I honestly understand and feel the offense people take.
For me personally, Sinterklaas has me cringing with bittersweetness ever since I found out about his racist taint. I’m not even particularly fond of the Sinterklaas tradition anymore.
However, I also don’t agree that we are teaching our children racism, nor paying ode to slavery by honoring this tradition every year. Not any more, that is.
Since the 1990’s, we have a children’s holiday special on TV portraying the real story. Children are elegantly taught Black Peter is black – and not brown/colored/african – because he came down the chimney. No more, no less. Nobody really tries to explain why his clothes didn’t get black during his journey down the chimney.
It is just part of the mystery, just like Bad-Wheater-Today walking on rooftops or Sinterklaas having this enormous book in which the good and bad behavior of every single child is listed. It doesn’t make sense, but children buy it anyway.
In this TV-special, Sinterklaas is depicted as a bit senile. In fact his Black Peters are now the smart ones, all with different names according to their function or character. A bit like the Smurfs, and everyone likes the Smurfs, right?
For the past 20+ years, this special comes on every November. Along the way, children started to grow more afraid of this very strict and grumpy old man than of his joyous, candy throwing helpers. The Black Peters became the true friends of our children. And every Belgian child you ask about Black Peter’s color now, will patiently tell you the chimney-story.
To me, this shows our tradition is evolving from, I admit, a racist past, towards a new story. Just like it evolved into Santa Claus overseas—who, by the way, appears to imprison a whole lot of innocent, little people in a Siberia-like, harsh environment without paying them for their round-the-clock labor.
Therefore, I trust society may even evolve towards a tradition of White Peters in a few more years or decades. After all, with more and more houses being built without huge chimneys, we will sooner or later find out that Peter’s color is fading, won’t we?
I’m hoping that by the time this post runs, all the petitions –pro and con–the social media frenzy, any UN investigations and any public manifestations, will be over and done with. I truly hope no-one got hurt along the way, and that both camps have reached a certain level of understanding towards each other by the time Saint Nicholas wants to celebrate his birthday.
Because, you know, my children are already expecting Sinterklaas to send one of his Peters down our chimney on the 6th of December. Especially my very dark daughter is impatiently awaiting. I’d hate to disappoint her if he decided not to come this year, because he’s afraid to be called a racist. She would definitely not understand, mainly because she doesn’t see any resemblance between Black Peter and herself.
I’m confident Sinterklaas will make it, though. We are both alike, Sinterklaas and me. We’re already used to people calling us racist slave handlers. And we both know better than that.
Did you know about Santa Claus’s European past? How would you feel if he had black helpers instead of elves?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by K10K from The Penguin and The Panther.
The picture in this post is credited to Sinterklaas Himself, who published it on Wikipedia, while undercover as Gaby Kooiman, under GNU Free Documentation License.
This piece makes me mad. Because I get so angry at our past as humans treating each other with such disrespect. It is UNACCEPTABLE — then, now and in the future.
And how you and your daughter are being treated with disrespect based on assumptions as a mother is not fair.
And I had no idea about Santa’s history. This isn’t what I was taught in church or at school, nothing close.
I’m not sure exactly how I want to teach this to my child. You’ve really left me questioning tradition, and what I thought was tradition. These are the types of posts I like to read — the ones that stretch me, make me think…
Jen
Just to make you feel a bit more comfortable: it is said by quite some people that Saint Nicholas actually freed african slave children (one of the reasons he is called a childrens’ friend), of which some decided to stay with him out of gratitude, to serve him.
To my taste, this story is still tainted, with the black helpers depicted as submissive and grateful (hence the page-cloths, thanks, Tinne). But at least our good old saint is no slave handler in this version, so if my children will question Black Peter and his color one day, I think I will use this version to explain it.
I also don’t think you should bring Santa Claus to the stand here. I believe it is even very positive that he deliberately didn’t bring his Black Peters overseas. Or maybe the story didn’t involve Black Peters yet at that time. I guess we will never really know when and where they came from…
But now I am wondering: how is the origin of Santa Claus told in the US?
I was totally ready to bring Santa to the stand this morning!!! lol
Your post really struck a cord with me when I read it. I think that you grow up trusting people to teach you the truth about everything. And then the more you read and research yourself, you find some of what you learned can be disproved, or was just someone else’s version of something. I am such a facts person. I need to know!!!
Jen 🙂
I wholeheartedly applaud to everything in this post! Very well written.
As for Peter’s outfit…I think it was based on a 19th century idea of how 16th century pages dressed. But please do correct me if I’m wrong.
Very well written and informative article.
Racism has been everywhere and is still haunting us till this century. Laws have been put to protect humans but its more embedded in people’s heart unfortunately. It’s frustrating and ridiculous how people are reacting to your daughter and yourself and thinking they know better..
It was very interesting to read the historical information on Santa, as a Muslim I’d not know much..
Thank you for such a great post
I find learning the histories of these folk figures fascinating. I grew up in US (northeast Pennsylvania to be precise) and attended a Catholic school named for St. Nicholas. Every year on St. Nicholas Day, a man dressed in traditional themed garb (not Santa, but similar with old European style) would visit our classrooms and give us treats.
Also, the folk tales around the Belsnickle and the Krampus were big in my area. Neither Santa nor St. Nick, these European based characters supposedly visited children prior to Christmas to check up on their good behavior. Naughty children were supposedly hit with a switch. Harsh! This was NEVER acted out in my area, but the stories were told and little Belsnickle figurines came out as decorations each year in December. As kids, we found them silly but were grateful to only have Santa as our visitor.
As to the broader implication of your post, you raise an interesting question. I think it’s good for ritual and tradition to evolve and incorporate the new reality while remembering the past. Easier said than done, though. Happy holidays to you!
Nice post Katinka! I think it is very important that you explain that the story of St-Nick and Black Peter has changed, as it may seem really strange to many people around the world.
I also think that the times have chanced as well though. We are children of the end of the 20th century, which were – for us lucky ones – free and peaceful times. When we look back upon the roots of the story, the idea of an ignorant black servant or slave with a funny costume and a broom to beat kids seems outrageous. But when the story took form, this may not have been so racist at all. Up to World War II, it was very common for European Clergy or landlords to have (white) servants. They were mostly illiterate and had specific clothes. It was even common for landlords to beat their servants if they felt like it, just as it was normal to beat kids that didn’t behave. During Medieval times, many European farmers even were the physical property of their landlord. He could do whatever he wanted with them, including killing them, letting them starve or sleep with the women on their wedding night. Although not called ‘slaves’, there was little difference, if any.
So, for the people that shaped the story in the past, it would be absolutely normal for a Bishop to have servants. St Nick’s just happened to be black. And indeed, he was declared a Saint for saving children from slavery or abuse.
Luckily, the times have changed. And therefore so must the story. As you describe so well, most children now do not consider Black Peter a mere servant but as the best friend of Sinterklaas, because, in Belgium at least, the story has evolved. Maybe one day there will be Peters that aren’t black. Or imagination will shape the story further: in Belgium, Sinterklaas recently got new friends: Conchita (the Spanish housekeeper) and her husband the professor, Boris (the boy of the neighbors), the funny captains of the ship, … So maybe, one day, St Nicolas will have a ‘rainbow’ entourage, with Black Peter being just one of his friends (his best friend!). Maybe, just as Mandela taught us, we should let go of the grieves of the past and start shaping a better future.
I’d never heard this version of the story.
I’m an Italian living in South Africa and get a bit “hypersensitive” when the “racism” word is bandied about – especially because right now it appears as if only “white” people can be racist because “affirmative action” or discriminating against a “white” person in favour of a “black” one is perfectly acceptable! “White” people are the MINORITY group in SA – yet we have NO “special” rights or protection against discrimination! 🙁
This year my son’s German girlfriend and her 4 year old daughter are going to join us for the Christmas Holiday, so I’m learning about yet another tradition – “The real St. Nicholas lived in the 4th century and was the bishop of a region located in present-day Turkey. Through stories and legends associated with him, he became known as the protector of children and the anonymous bestower of gifts upon them. Over the centuries, the life and deeds of St. Nicholas were celebrated on the saint’s appointed day, the 6th of December. By the Middle Ages, the observance had already become a celebration of children and a day on which they received gifts. It was the German Martin Luther who sought to sever the connection between the saint and the gift-giving celebration for children, because in his Reformation theology, there was no place for the glorification of saints. Rather than abolishing the custom outright, Luther replaced the persona of Nicholas with that of the Christ child; in his Protestant teachings, not Nicholas but rather now the baby Jesus was attributed with bringing the children gifts, and not on the saint’s day but rather at Christmas. Today in many regions of Germany, not Saint Nick, but rather the Christkind leaves Christmas gifts for children on December 24th.”
So this year it won’t be Santa Claus bringing gifts, but rather the baby Jesus! 🙂
Thanks Simona! I didn’t know about the Christkind, it’s fascinating to see how traditions evolve in a range of new ones!
And about racism: you’re absolutely right! I didn’t know there was this reverse racism now in South Africa though.
I do know I was kind of shocked when a former colleague of mine, from Ethiopia, commented on the picture of my daughter (also from Ethiopia) that I should have chosen ‘a lighter one’. The dark Ethiopians are apparently no good according to some groups of lighter Ethiopians. They won’t even sit together on a bus, etc. It was the first time I realized the many facets of racism…
Thanks for this. My Canadian friends are all up in arms about Zwarte Piet, horrified by why the Dutch are defending him. I grew up in the Dutch Caribbean, and while I never identified with SInterklaas and Zwarte Piet (for me it was Santa and elves all the way) I did see how accepted he was in a society that was FULL of people of African heritage.
Yes, he looks offensive. But he’s not MEANT to be offensive. He doesn’t speak in ebonics, or portray Black people in a negative light. He isn’t even referred to as being of African descent, even though his get-up comes from the Moors.
And he’s part of their childhood. They love him the way we love other happy memories from our childhood. To tear him down is like tearing down the house where you grew up, ripping up a photo of you on your lap with Santa… it’s happy memories, to them, not a political message.
So I agree that he is offensive. But he is also part of their culture. I understand why the Dutch don’t want to give him up.