Black Peter

I know a lot of people don't know about this but Santa Claus has slaves.... in Holland. Look it up every year on the 5th of December there are white people putting on black face, running around in the streets acting a fool because they represent the help of "Sinterklaas". Little kids love it because they think it is real but those same kids don't see the diffrence between Black Peter and a real coiled-haired black person with red lipstick on.


The celebration of this day starts about a month before the actual day and during this time you see these kind of things:


Black Peter (Zwarte Piet)






Santa Claus (Sinterklaas)

As you can see, these are white people where black and brown make-up. These Black Peters also tend to be loud, dance around and/or they do acrobatic moves. Some black people find the party offensive, racist and have tried to get it banned. Meanwhile, as a turist you only see this when you leave the airport. I have never seen any Black Peter or Sinterklaas at the Schiphol Airport, which leads me to think that it is forbidden to show these "cultural elements" in international areas.

In my opinion the Black Peters are in fact offensive; the black make-up, kinky wig and fake big red lips are self-explanatory. Still, as long as I don't surround myself by people who celebrate it or raise my kids in the Netherlands, it will not really affect me. I wonder how other people, who don't live in the Netherlands, feel about this holiday?