Celebrating and modernising Dutch Sinterklaas

Celebrating and modernising Dutch Sinterklaas

The first time I ever visited Amsterdam, quite by chance, I stumbled on a long and loud parade of people in blackface (blacked up) all behaving foolishly, like clowns. To top this, they were followed by one regal looking white man wearing a red Bishop’s robe. The year was 2014 and I was in the land of tolerance: the Netherlands. I was shocked.

Later that day, when I questioned some Dutch acquaintances on what I had just seen, they assured me that it was a harmless tradition—'Dutch Christmas’—and in no way racist. ‘It’s just a kids festival; it’s so annoying when people call it racist.’ And it certainly seemed that a majority felt that way. All the shops, cafes, and buildings were decorated with the blackfaced character, Piet. So I kept my shock to myself, a little unsure how to process the nonchalance of an entire country—famed as so liberal—in the face of such a seemingly racist tradition.

What I had unwittingly stumbled on, during my first Amsterdam visit, was Sinterklaas—a festival celebrated in early December by the Dutch. It is a celebration of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, who is seen as a kindly old man who arrives from Spain, by boat, to deliver presents to well-behaved children. Typically, it is a bigger event than Christmas, and involves an exchange of gifts, chocolate letters, and doggerel poems to ones loved ones. There is also the ‘surprise’, a homemade joke present, hiding another present inside it. People eat marzipan and pepernoten biscuits.

Sinterklaas has a number of helpers named Zwarte Piet (black Piet)—and it is with this character that the tradition becomes racist. Many defendants of Zwarte Piet claim that he is based on the character of a dark demoniac figure that scares naughty children—in common with Scandinavia, Austria and Germany, and predating Christianity. Or that Zwarte Piet is actually just covered in soot, because he comes down the chimney. Yet the current depiction of Zwarte Piet, popularised by an 1850 book by Jan Schenkman, has thick red lips, an afro, golden earrings and a costume said to have been worn by child slaves in the 17th century. In songs, Zwarte Piet is often portrayed as stupid, and he is always the one doing the heavy labour. Whilst such racist caricaturing of slaves was widespread during the period of Dutch colonialism and the slave trade, it seems out of place in the Netherlands of 2018.

But does it really matter? Does this widespread racist caricaturing have any real impact on the non-white Dutch population? Every year, around 5th December, there is a rise in racially-motivated hate crime in the Netherlands—which is unlikely to be coincidental. Alongside this, most black people in the Netherlands are, at some point, called Piet—a name which is racially charged, humiliating, and associated with low intelligence and buffoonery. Given that those targeted are almost certainly the same people who already suffer daily discrimination in the Netherlands, with less access to jobs, housing and higher education, and an active police policy of racial profiling, blackface can only add insult to injury. For one day a year, anyone can wear black paint, disport as inappropriately as they choose, as Zwarte Piet, then remove the paint, without ever engaging with the difficulties of being black in Dutch society. 

These people—the majority—still refuse to recognise that there might be anything racist or offensive in the tradition; while some have felt so intensely that Zwarte Piet must stay that they have even got married in blackface; and many just don’t seem to care.

Yet there is a growing movement against Zwarte Piet, and the tides are beginning to turn. Characters such as rainbow Piet, cheese Piet and stroopwaffel Piet are beginning to be included in city-funded Sinterklaas celebrations, and some big shops are moving away from having Zwarte Piet on their merchandise. On a more personal level, some people are also registering their disapprobation by refusing to attend family celebrations where Zwarte Piet is to be present.

This year, once again, the debate will rage on. But hopefully, as more and more people are encouraged to reflect on Zwarte Piet’s role in the celebrations, they will realise that removing the racism can only be a step forward: 5th December will still be Sinterklaas—even without the shadow of blackface.