So as most of you people know, I'm from The Netherlands.

Here in The Netherlands, we don't celebrate Christmas in the same way the Americans do. We do celebrate it, but Santa is not a big part of it. This is because we have a different holiday called "Sinterklaas", also known was Saint Nicolas's Day, or Saint Nick's Day.

Saint Nicolas is a big deal in The Netherlands. This event lasts for several weeks, starting the first weekend after the 11th of November, lasting all the way till the 5th of December. During this time, Saint Nick arrives on his boat and stays in The Netherlands to give presents to all the children.

Saint Nick's arrival is a huge event. Kids from all over the country gather around to greet Saint Nick and his helpers.

Here is a video of last year's arrival of Saint Nick:




As you can see, it is a huge deal. The Netherlands and the Dutch children care a lot about Saint Nick. Saint Nick is a much bigger deal here than Santa is in America.


So, who is Saint Nick you ask?

The short answer is that Saint Nick is a mythical figure based on the historic Greek Bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra. The Bishop of Myra was known for his benevolence and was rumored to secretly give gifts to children and leaving coins in the shoes of the poor. He was also known for freeing slaves and offering them paid jobs as free men (I highlight this because this is an important part to pay attention to for later).
After passing away, Saint Nicholas became a legend, who's story eventually found his way to Europe as Saint Nick and got his own Catholic holiday Saint Nicholas's Day. Much later Saint Nicholas's Day also found it's way to The Americas through Dutch and French pilgrims. Eventually Saint Nicholas became the blueprint for the more secular and more commercialized Santa Clause.

Many countries today still celebrate Saint Nick, not just The Netherlands. France, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine and even some African countries all celebrate Saint Nick's Day. But nowhere is it as big of a deal as in The Netherlands, where Saint Nick has become an integral part of our Dutch culture.


I have many fond memories of Saint Nick as a child. The period Saint Nick was in The Netherlands was always my favorite period when I was younger. I loved Saint Nick and I loved his helpers even more. Black Pete has always been a fascinating and positive rolemodel for me as a child. Even today, Saint Nick's Day is still one of my favorite holidays. Everyone celebrates it, much in the same fashion Christmas is celebrated in The Americas. As such, I care deeply about Saint Nicholas, much more so than I care about Christmas.


But now, my Dutch culture has come under fire from ignorant outsiders who know nothing about Saint Nicholas and our Dutch culture and tradition. Saint Nick is called racist and the Dutch are forced to censor their holiday because of easily-offended and ignorant outsiders. For the first time, I legit feel oppressed. 

Why is Saint Nick called racist by ignorant outsiders? It's all because of how his friendly helpers look like. Introducing, Black Pete and the pietermannen (roughly translated to "peter-men"):



These pietermannen/peter-men come in all different sizes, shapes and colors with different titles and different jobs, but the majority of them are black. This is rooted in Saint Nicholas's origin. Remember the highlighted part from earlier? Saint Nicholas was known for freeing slaves and offering them paid jobs as free men.

No wonder then, that most peter-men are black. They symbolize the former slaves who were freed by Saint Nick and offered paid jobs as free men. This is in stark contrast to Santa Clause, who's still uses elven slaves. Technically Santa Clause is more offense than Saint Nick, who abolished slavery. 

One of the reasons people think Black Pete and the peter-men are racist is because it reminds them of black-face. 



While there are clearly some resemblances, they are clearly two completely different characters. Black Pete is an overly positive figure who children love and respect, while black-face is scary, creepy and a negative racist stereotype.

Also, I'd like to ad that, just because something reminds you of something else, doesn't mean this something is "problematic". The problem clearly is you, as you're the one drawing the (in my opinion far-fetched) connection between the positive Black Pete and the negative black-face. No one in The Netherlands thinks that way about Black Pete. It's almost always outsiders and/or immigrants who raise objections to Black Pete.

Some people argue that Black Pete is also a negative caricature of black people, which is absolute nonsense. While Black Pete indeed symbolizes a freed black slave, he is much more than just a symbol or a caricature.

The peter-men, as they are now, are more like The Smurfs. Each Pete has his/her own title, job and characteristics. Many peter-men have magical powers related to their job or title. There's a Lord Pete (the leader of all peter-men), Logistics Pete, Pathfinder Pete, Sailor Pete, Cook Pete, etc. etc. etc. There's even a Music Pete based on Elvis Presley! 



When I look at the Music Pete above, the first thing that comes to mind is: "a caricature and parody on Elvis Presley". What doesn't even enter my mind at all is: "a caricature and parody on black people".
If "a caricature and parody on black people" is the first thing you think about, then I have bad news for you: you're the one being a racist.


Now, as some of you might have noticed, a few days ago I had an avatar of Black Pete. I used this avatar in good holiday spirit to celebrate the upcoming Saint Nick's Day and as a way to show my Dutch pride and heritage. I jokingly renamed myself to Heretic Pete which as you understand now is much in the same fashion as how all the other peter-men are named.


However, some people on this forum were either genuinely offended by my Black Pete avatar (doubtful), or simply don't like me and thought it would be funny to bully me by reporting my avatar to get it removed (more likely).

Whoever reported my avatar, congratulations, you won. You successfully bullied me and my culture.
And to you Puddi, thanks a lot for literally throwing my Dutch culture into the trash bin like that without warning me or discussing my avatar with me in private before taking such draconian actions.

Congratulations people, you successfully oppressed someone else's culture. Good job. I hope you are proud of yourselves.