As you will know from previous posts I’m a bit obsessed with
Continental Christmas traditions. A couchsurfer from Holland visited me a few
months ago, and I requested native foodstuffs as my gift. She brought a bag of Kruidnoten
‘gingerbread’ biscuits and the story of the racist Santa which I now present.
December 5th is the day that good little Dutch
children get their presents from the benevolent St Nik. Whilst the commercial
kids now leave stockings and bags for Santa, traditionally the children always
left out their shoes. If the child had been good Santa would fill those shoes
with sweeties; if they had been bad they would start a whole new adventure, in
Spain.
Unlike other Santas, St Nik, patron saint of Amsterdam, has
a time-share in Spain; he likes to stay warm whilst he’s making all those sweets
and toys. He has a team of helpers, who look like Moors. The story I heard was
that the naughty children had been engaged in slave labour for Santa, climbing
up and down chimneys and acquiring black faces, as it turns out in bygone
centuries Santa had a black servant called, imaginatively, Black Pete and it
was he who adorned my pack of Kruidnoten, like the most unashamed, Gollywogg I’ve
ever seen!
Just so racist.
And because Santa has been living all year in Spain how is
he supposed to get to Holland – by steamboat of course! None of this sleigh and
reindeer business, Santa is a civilised chap, who rides a steamboat to Holland
and then a white and noble steed! This being a tradition he probably borrowed
from pre-Christian times when his name was Odin.
I am fascinated by all these borrowings from different times
Santa from one culture has gained to form his fully-fledged expression in the
21st century. I wonder how Dutch Santa will translate again in
another 100 years, will he catch up with modern transport and fly from Spain
perhaps? Will he be less racist? Only time will tell.
Merry early Christmas everyone!
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