{"id":9465,"date":"2013-11-19T14:45:43","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T14:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress72\/?page_id=10669"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:30","slug":"week-42-sinterklaas-and-zwarte-piet-is-it-racist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2013\/11\/19\/week-42-sinterklaas-and-zwarte-piet-is-it-racist\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 42: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, is it racist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, is it racist?<\/h2>\n

Lately there has been a lot of fuss about the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas<\/a>, because of the fact that\u00a0 Sinterklaas\u2019 assistants (Zwarte Pieten) are all black. Therefore, more and more people want to ban Zwarte Piet. What do international students know about Sinterklaas, and do they think it\u2019s a racist tradition? We showed them a picture <\/a>of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet and asked them. <\/p>\n

Marios Touvanas, European Masters in Law & Economics from Cyprus<\/h3>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Saint Nicholas, right? If I remember correctly, you celebrate this holiday at December 6th. At least, that\u2019s what we do in Cyprus. Saint Nicholas day isn\u2019t a major holiday in my country, but it is an Orthodox Christian tradition that there is a celebration day for each name, and Nicholas is celebrated on December 6th. Presents are not part of this tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cypriot holiday that comes closest to this \u2018Sinterklaas\u2019 of yours, is the feast of Saint Basil on the first of January. On that day, a man who looks quite similar to Santa Claus brings gifts to the children, and we also eat cake and reward the kid that finds a hidden coin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to hear that some think your festivity is racist. Are the assistants always black? If so, I can imagine that there are Dutch people who feel that way. Especially because Saint Nicholas, the \u2018boss\u2019, is always white and has black helpers. It reminds me of the Dutch colonies and the slaves they got from Africa to do their work. Maybe it\u2019s a good idea to make some changes. Because of the tradition it would be kind of stupid to make Saint Nicholas a black person, but it would be good if some of his assistants were also white.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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Sarvesh Singh, Master Business Administration (MBA) from India<\/h3>\n

\u201cYes I recognize the people in the picture, it is about the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas, isn\u2019t it? The man looks a bit like Santa Claus, and I heard that, according to the Dutch tradition, he also puts presents in the chimney. I think it\u2019s a nice festivity, just like the Hindu holiday Holi, when we throw around colored dust and give each other presents.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell me some Dutch people think that Sinterklaas is a racist tradition? I don\u2019t think I agree with them. I heard the helpers are black because of the soot in the chimney. But even if they are supposed to be black Africans, I don\u2019t think the intention of the holiday is about slavery or something like that. It\u2019s just meant as a nice festivity for the youth and has nothing to do with discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kakanang Tosanguan from Thailand and Yun Liu from China, both master students Health Economics, Policy & Law (HEPL)<\/h3>\n

Kakanang: \u201cHmmm, I have no idea who these people are and what they are doing. The man with the beard and the red dress looks a bit like the pope! Does it have anything to do with Catholicism? <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know that this was a Dutch holiday, so I have never heard that black people in the Netherlands criticize this tradition. To be honest, I didn\u2019t even know that Holland has a lot of inhabitants with origins in Suriname and the Antilles. But I think they have a point, I understand why they would associate this with racism. The white man with black assistants can have the effect of a flashback to the colonial period, and of course they don\u2019t like to be reminded to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yun: \u201cAre they going to a costume party? They look quite funny. We have no such holidays in China, but it reminds me of the Christmas culture that I know from the United States. In Chinese culture, adults give children money at the lunar new year, but besides that, we don\u2019t have a lot of holidays with presents involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I look at this picture of Sinterklaas more closely, it is indeed pretty strange that all of his helpers are black. Maybe it would be better if some of them would be white or if Sinterklaas himself would be black!\u201d MvS<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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