Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet - from the Netherlands

End of the year holidays are celebrated all over the world in a number of ways. Traditions carried down from generations are remembered, families are engaged in each other and the season, friends - new and old - are acknowledged for all they have done. There is the exchange of gifts, the special holiday time foods, and the overall feeling of goodwill.

In the Netherlands, December 5 is Sinterklaas Day - with his arrival from Spain just a few weeks prior. This marks the start of the gift giving season. December 6 is the day that Saint Nicholas died so it is named in his honor and, therefore, gifts are given on the eve of that day.

Custom
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten arrive by steamboat from Spain each year to the Netherlands in late November and are then paraded through the streets of the town, welcomed by cheering and singing children. His 'Zwarte Pieten' throw candy and small, round ginger bread-like cookies, 'kruidnoten', into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional 'Sinterklaas' songs. 'Sinterklaas' also visits schools, hospitals and shopping malls.

Once he arrives in the country, children will put their shoes by the fireplace (or heater) in anticipation that he will come to visit them. Specifically, shoes are used to deliver the presents as they are very personal to the child and Sinterklaas can differentiate between the good and bad children.

Sinterklaas is a former bishop of Turkey well known, during his tenure, for being generous. Each year, he visits the children of The Netherlands. To the good boys and girls, Sinterklaas instructs Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) to deliver presents in their shoes which are placed next to the fireplace. The bad boys and girls - as the story goes - are given bundles of sticks and a bag of salt in their shoes or placed in the potato bag to be taken back to Madrid, Spain.

History
In the fourth century, Sint Nicolaas (in Dutch "Sinterklaas"; in English "Saint Nicholas" or in German "Sankt Nikolaus") was the bishop of Myra, a city in the current Turkey. According to the legend, he saved the village from hunger. The tale also tells a story in which he "awoke" three children from death and gave gifts and treasurers to poor little girls and brides. Some sources mention that he died on 6 December in the year 343. In the Dutch tradition, it is not clear why he comes from Spain each year. It may be due to the fact that Saint Nicholas was the protector of the ship traders. In the 17th century the Netherlands was well known for its shipping. It is suggested that, perhaps, contact with the Spanish ship traders during that period lead to the start of the tradition. Per the documented history, it is also possible that when Muslim population overtook Myra and he was banished to the Catholic country of Spain.

There are many stories around the 'meaning' of Black Pete. Some say that the connection to Spain helps to explain why Saint Nicholas is helped by Black Pete as the Moores dominated Spain during that time (17th and 18th century). While still others say Pete was an Ethiopian slave who, when Sinterklaas bought him his freedom, was so grateful that he stayed to assist him. Yet another story indicates that Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are very similar to the Germanic god Wodan who rode a white horse through the air and was acompanied by two black ravens. The ravens listended to mortals through the chimneys to find out if they were good or bad. They then advised Wodan of their findings. The oldest dated story indicates that during the Middle-ages Zwarte Piet was a name for the devil. Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas eve the devil was shackled and made his slave. Although the character of Black Pete later came to acquire racial connotations, his origins were in the devil figure. This racialization is reflected in the reworking of the characters' mythos. The black-face used today creates some discussion every year. Some say Pete is an imported African servant of Saint Nicholas since 1850. Today however, the more politically correct explanation is that Pete was a "live brush", chimney sweep, and his face is "black from soot" (as Pete has to climb through chimneys to deliver his gifts). Traditionally Saint Nicholas only had one helper, whose name varied widely. "Piet(er)" the name in use now can be traced back to a book from 1891.

In honor of Saint Nicholas' gift giving tendencies, the tradition of giving small gifts to children on the eve of his date of death, December 5, began many years ago. During his visit, the naughty children are punished, whereas the kind children are rewarded. Black Pete will give the kind children candies while the bad children get salt and a rod or worse, taken back to Spain when the group returns. The arrival of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten to the Netherlands (and Belgium) is a couple weeks before the holiday named in his honor.

On the special night, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten visit all the houses from rooftop to rooftop. Sinterklaas' white (or grey) horse, Americo, delivers them safely. Zwarte Pieten climb down the chimney to drop small presents and candy in the form of a chocolate frog filled with marzipan into the shoes and collect anything the children left for them. Typically, this includes straw, carrots or water for the horse. When all is done on December 6, the group returns to Spain until next year.

Clothing
Sinterklaas wears a red bishop's dress including a red mitre, rides a white horse (called Americo) over the rooftops and is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries.
Sinterklaas has a long white beard and and carries a big book with all the children's names in it, and whether they have been good or bad. The most striking part of Sinterklaas' attire is the bonnet, an oriental hat. The bonnet has two flats sides (front and back) and leads up to a point. Each side contains a white cross - initially, the cross insignia was reserved for the pope but made available some time ago to bishops as well. Sinterklaas also carries an episcopal staff. This is an adaptation of the shepherd staff, which represents care for mental well-being. The bishop's dress or robe is called an albe which is the clergy symbol for purity. The albe is held together by the tie called tinkles. The tinkles represent control and chastity. Around his neck, Sinterklaas wears a stole. The stole symbolizes the yoke of the responsibility.

Modifications on the Gift Giving Tradition
Traditionally Saint Nicholas brings his gifts in the night. In The Netherlands adults started to give each other presents on the evening of the 5th; then older children were included and today in the country even the youngest take part in 'Sinterklaasavond' or 'Pakjesavond' (Sinterklaas night or package night): children at home sing 'Sinterklaas' songs and suddenly somebody will knock on the door very loudly, and when they go to the door a gunny sack full of presents is found on the doorstep. Alternatively - some improvisation is often called for - the parents 'hear a sound coming from the attic' and then the bag with presents is 'found' there. Some parents manage to 'convince' Sinterklaas to come to their home personally.

Typical presents include the first letter of the child's name made out of chocolate, a figurine of Sinterklaas made out of chocolate and wrapped in painted aluminium foil, coloured marzipan shaped into fruit, an animal or some other object. These presents are often accompanied by a simple poem, saying something about the child or with a hint to the nature of the big present. Also popular are coins and cigarettes made out of chocolate. However, the European Parliament has issued a recommendation to ban chocolate cigarettes since they might promote future real smoking.

The poem and the wrapping, called 'surprise', usually become more important than the gift itself. There may be instructions about where the gift is hidden, the parcel may be wrapped strangely - several layers of wrapping with syrup smeared in between and ultimately there may be no gift in the parcel at all. The possibilities are endless and preparations may start weeks (or months) in advance. But not to worry, there are always real gifts, the biggest of which are sometimes a remnant of the original tradition, reserved for the next morning, spread out on a big table and buried under walnuts and tangerines ('from Spain'). The poems may also be more like small pieces of art, often ridiculing things the receiver did in the past year. Since the poem is signed by 'Sinterklaas', the poems can be pleasantly sharp and things can be said which one would not usually say directly, even though it is usually clear who wrote the poem. The quality of such poetry varies strongly, from crooked rhymes to reasonably well written poems of several pages.

How Can Sinterklaas be Everywhere?
When children ask their parents how it is possible that Sinterklaas is at so many places, they tell them that those are assistant Sinterklazen. At family gatherings where a stand-in Sinterklaas in a rented suit appears, parents have reported in advance to this Sinterklaas what the children have done good and bad and make it look like he knows everything about the children when the 'Goedheiligman' ('Good Holy Man') looks in his big book.

Is He Real or Myth?
Most children do suspect that Sinterklaas may not truly exist. The atmosphere during celebrations can be very enchanting though, and many children really want to believe. For some children, gradually losing their magic view of the world as they grow older and getting more and more suspicious about what their parents are telling them, it still may be their first big traumatic experience in life when their parents admit that Sinterklaas does not really exist.

Therefore some parents tell their children from the start that all this Sinterklaas is just a fantasy, a game that people play, as they consider it an inappropriately bad example about telling the truth. Others, looking back on their own experience with Sinterklaas as a child, consider that the enjoyment the children gets is greater than a 'small' discomfort in deceit.
After kids stop believing, families often continue to celebrate the holiday. Also secondary school classes and colleagues at work sometimes celebrate it together. Often Sinterklaas and a Zwarte Piet will be there as well, and the people just pretend that they are real, although there are no believing children among them.