The current position of Zwarte Piet.

Although Sinterklaas is already over, the question if Zwarte Piet has to leave is still going on. After all the commotion around the Zwarte Piet the Dutch government thinks that Zwarte Piet has to change, the Sinterklaas party is already a tradition in the Netherlands for so long and therefore can not be banned so easily.

Prime Minister and Minister for Integration Lodewijk Asscher believes that 'we should not call everybody who celebrates Sinterklaas a racist'', he calls the naming a 'bad intention' that people do not deserve. However he thinks that the Zwarte Piet has to change. Next to that do the different Sinterklaas organisations and the Dutch society have understanding for the Zwarte Piet issue and are therefore willing to change the appearance of Zwarte Piet.

Changing the frizzy hair of Zwarte Piet to a new hair look, changing the color of the skin, leaving the golden earrings and less red lips could be a few examples of the change of the appearance of Zwarte Piet.

The United Nations is still writing a report about the Zwarte Piet issue and would like that the figure is banned in 2015. For a lot of people that are celebrating Sinterklaas this goes to far. We hope that there will be found a way in the middle and that everybody can enjoy the celebration of Sinterklaas.   

If you have any suggestions on how Zwarte Piet has to change feel free to share your ideas! 

Some Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

These pictures were made during the Sinterklaasfeest. 

Look at the happy children, who are waiting for Sint and the Zwarte Pieten to bring joy and cheer, once in a year.

 

Excited children waiting for Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten to arrive! 

 

 

The Importance of Traditions

Sinterklaas just ended, and we are about to start preparing for Christmas. Both of these magical events are carrying the tradition of people’s beliefs. Therefore, it is crucial to know how important tradition is for some nations.

Every nation has its own traditions, which might be controversial for outsiders. This doesn’t mean that those traditions are unethical or bad. 

So, why are traditions important?

One of the most essential parts of following a tradition is that it brings people closer together. The holidays give families a reason to come together and celebrate.  Even families fraught with interpersonal issues may put their grievances aside for a short time to honor the tradition.

Nowadays, people tend to work far away from their families and only see them just a couple of times a year. Traditional celebrations like Sinterklaas gives people an opportunity to see their loved ones and spend time with them in a calm and relaxing moment. People can shut out the every day problems, and care about bonding with their relatives.

I particularly enjoy family traditions. Living away from our loved ones is hard. Seeing them only 5-6 times a year is harder. The only time when people in the same position can enjoy the presence of their loved ones unconditionally, is the holiday season. Nothing is better than having a traditional holiday meal with all of the family members and just spread the love.

Every family has traditions. Even though, you don’t recognize it anymore, because it became a routine.  

Only people with traditional background can understand the real importance of long lasting traditions. Giving up Sinterklaas for some people can be as hard as giving up Thanksgiving or Christmas for others. 

Think about how you like to spend your valuable time with your family, and how important it is for you to carry it on for the rest of your life.

Share your best memories of any traditions and holidays you had, or just simply tell us why you think traditions are important!

Follow us on Facebook, participate in the discussions, and share your opinion. 

Happy Sinterklaas Evening!

Hi everyone!

Tonight is the night we all have been waiting for since last year: Sinterklaas evening!

We would like to wish you a very nice Sinterklaas feast!

What are your plans tonight? Will Sinterklaas visit your place with some of the Zwarte Pieten?
Let us know and enjoy the overload of kruidnoten!

Zwarte Piet is Sinterklaas’ friend, not his slave!

Originally, the Sinterklaas feast celebrates the name day, 6 December of Saint Nicholas, a patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas was a saint from Spain and had a black helper depicted as a Morisco page. St. Nicholas was well known in Spain as the patron of sailors, which is also the reason why he comes to the Netherlands on a steamboat. Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colorful Moorish dresses. These helpers are called ‘Zwarte Pieten’. The Sinterklaas feast was originally an occasion to help the poor, by putting money in their shoes (which evolved into putting presents in children’s shoes) and a wild feast, similar to carnival. 

Nowadays, some people feel discriminated by the fact that Sinterklaas is assisted by Zwarte Pieten. However, as the Zwarte Pieten do this voluntarily, they cannot be considered as slaves. The first Zwarte Piet was a slave from Ethiopia which Saint Nicholas freed from his masters by paying for his freedom. This man – named Pitter – was so happy with Saint Nicholas’ actions that he promised him to help him in order to thank him for what he did. This means Zwarte Piet has never been a slave of Sinterklaas, but an employee. 

Children do not see Zwarte Piet as something bad or discriminative

Also, Dutch people – especially children – do not see Zwarte Piet as a slave of Sinterklaas. Only one percent sees Zwarte Piet as a slave of Sinterklaas. The majority thinks Zwarte Piet is Sinterklaas’ friend. Children state that Zwarte Piet is cool because eventually, he is the one giving presents, handing out sweets and doing awesome stunts! In comparison to Zwarte Piet, children find Sinterklaas boring. Why do you think children always dress up as Zwarte Piet instead of Sinterklaas? Because they love Zwarte Piet! Moreover, in the past, children thought Sinterklaas was a bit scary because he was so strict. Zwarte Piet was the one who created the nice atmosphere. This shows that children (and adults as well) do not have a negative and / or discriminative perception about Zwarte Piet. 

Many people who feel like Zwarte Piet is racism, say that children will link the Zwarte Pieten as slaves to people with a dark skin color. They are afraid children will discriminate them. However, the fact that Zwarte Piet can be discriminative against these people, is not understood by 86% of the children(source). Zwarte Piet is a friend of the children, someone that children look up to. Thus, Zwarte Piet is a positive role model in the Dutch society as Dutch children say themselves. 

What do you think of Zwarte Piet? Are you going to put your shoe in front of the chimney tonight?

An introduction in the commotion around 'Zwarte Piet'

Since the end of October 2013 the well-known personage 'Zwarte Piet' is being questioned especially in the Netherlands, but also in other countries.

The Jamaican Verene Shepard, chair of the VN commission, is doing research about the 'Zware Piet'. The workgroup of the VN cannot understand why the Dutch public keeps on repeating the slavery with the 'Sinterklaas' party. According to the workgroup of the VN that the Sinterklaas party has to end in the 21^st century. These statements have caused many fuss in the Netherlands .

One day after the statements of the VN workgroup a petition, 'the Pietitie', to make a statement that Zwarte Piet has to stay has been made by Dutch people on Facebook and reached more than one million people in one day. Since there live a lot of black immigrants in the Netherlands, they feel attacked by the 'Zwarte Piet' and are therefore demonstrating against the Zwarte Piet. At the moment the discussion is still going on if the 'Zwarte Piet' has to be removed from the 'Sinterklaas' party.

The two main affected publics in this topic are the Dutch people and the black people who live in the Netherlands or another country and are feeling discriminated by the Zwarte Piet.

On the one hand there are the Dutch people who feel that the Zwarte Piet is just a contribution to the tradition of celebrating the Sinterklaas party . The Dutch society feels that the Sinterklaas party is especially for children and that there are no racist meanings involved. The Dutch society reacts on the statements of the workgroup of the VN with a petition as mentioned before. Next to that people are organising demonstrations in the Netherlands to show their support to the conservation of the Zwarte Piet.

On the other hand we have we have the black people who state that the Zwarte Piet is a racist figure. The black people have the feeling that they are being stereotyped with the Zwarte Piet. A father with a daughter out of Rwanda mentions that his daughter has been called Zwarte Piet by other children because she looked like it. The deep dark skin, golden earrings, frizzy hair and thick red lips are examples of this stereotyping. Next to that the Zwarte Piet is submissive to the 'Sinterklaas' which contributes to reminding of the slavery time. A lot of black people cannot understand how the Dutch people can celebrate a party with a public figure like Zwarte Piet.

What is your opinion about Zwarte Piet?

Surprise!

Yes, it is THAT time of the year! The Zwarte Pieten are already leaving surprises for those who put their shoe next to the chimney! If we would not have zwarte piet, we would not have a nice present in our shoe.. 

New logo for the movement

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