Netherlands vs Black Pete

According to legends of the Netherlands and Flanders, the day of St. Nicholas on December 6 Black Pete delivers through a pipe of his gifts to the good children and naughty takes with him. Depict him as a young man with a black or brown face and curly hair, in trousers and a velvet beret with a feather. He carries with him a book in which, according to legend, contains all good and bad deeds of children. On old Christmas cards can be seen planting a little naughty in the sack. Surprising that it is, in contrast to the genial gray-bearded elder Nicholas Dutch kids are afraid of and dislike.

the Discussion about whether to consider the existence of the Black Pete a racist and a relic of the past, breaks out every year in December. Supporters of Black Pete portray him with blue or green face paint black spots on the cheeks to indicate its color without a hint of a race, but opponents organize pickets, facing the street with placards: “Black Pete is racism!” Prime Minister mark Rutte, as reminds Agency Reuters, a few years ago, spoke about this quite clearly: “Black Pete is simply black, and there’s nothing you can do.” However, speaking at a hearing on the protest demonstrations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, caused by the death in the U.S. African-American George Floyd, he admitted that he changed his mind. According to Rutte, a lot of people this ancient character seems racial discrimination, “and that’s the last thing we would like during the Christmas holidays.”