Say what?

In the Netherlands, I share my birthday with Sinterklas.* This seemed like a good idea, until my colleagues filled me in on the darker side (literally) of the Dutch St. Nicholas.

More than Sinterklas himself, the Dutch love his little helpers, all of whom are called Zwarte Piet (literally, "Black Peter"). Zwarte Piet is a Dutch tradition that is entirely lost in translation, at least for Americans scarred by the legacy of Jim Crow.

For a country that prides itself on being forward-thinking, how can its adults love to dress up in black face, complete with big red lips and curly "Afro" wigs, to dance around clumsily to bad hip-hop? (For examples, see here and here.) How can otherwise-normal seeming stores deck themselves out with grinning black-face caricatures, both as decorations and as merchandise?










I am very confused, and have heard no satisfactory explanation (including the more recent effort to recast Zwarte Piet as a chimney sweep: I know a socially inappropriate stereotype of a dumb but happy black slave when I see one).

There's so much to say on the subject, but I expect everything I could say has already occurred to you. (And if it hasn't, just try googling "zwarte piet" - it's all been said before.) Instead, check out Jeff's post, which also links to the quintessential David Sedaris take on this inexplicably popular Dutch tradition.

* In the U.S., St. Nicholas Day is celebrated - if it is celebrated at all - on December 6.