Black Peter says Merry Christmas

Photo by Half Chinese

In Santa’s little blackface helper GlobalPost’s Paul Ames looks at the Belgian and Dutch Christmas character Zwarte Piet or Black Peter.

Although many Dutch and Belgian families now also give gifts at Christmas, traditionally the big day for children in the Low Countries has been St. Nicholas day on Dec. 6. The celebration recognizes a fourth-century bishop from what is now Turkey who became renowned among medieval Christians for his generosity and help for children.

A kindly, white bearded figure in red bishop’s robes, the Dutch “Sinterklaas” became the prototype for Santa Claus in 19th-century America.

Around the same time, back in the Netherlands, St. Nick gained a black assistant. His origins are obscure. Some say he evolved from a devil tamed by the saint, others that Pete is an Ethiopian slave freed by St. Nick, or a Moor with origins in Spain. Attempts to make him more politically correct suggest that Black Pete’s black face is actually the result of climbing down chimneys to deliver presents.