zwarte piet

Gerard Bijvank
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zwarte piet
zwarte piet

ZWARTE PIET; Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful outfits, modelled after 16th century Spanish clothing. These helpers are called Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) in Dutch (see below for names in other languages). 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 racialisation is reflected in the reworking of the characters' mythos. From about 1850 , Pete was said to be an imported African servant of Saint Nicholas. Today however, a more politically correct explanation is given: Pete's face is said to be "black from soot" (as Pete has to climb down chimneys to deliver his gifts). Nevertheless, the tradition has been accused of being racist, and attempts have been made to introduce Coloured Petes, who are coloured blue, red, etc., instead of black. This phenomenon of "Coloured Petes" was introduced nationally in 2006. The explanation given for this was that "Sinterklaas passed through a rainbow with his boat". This was met with lot of criticism, it being "too politically correct". In 2007 all Petes were just black. In Suriname, a former Dutch colony where people are darker than most Belgians and Dutch people, Zwarte Pieten are still often colored. Traditionally Saint Nicholas only had one helper, whose name varied wildly. "Piet" or "Pieter", the name in use now, can be traced back to a book from 1891. The idea that Sinterklaas has not one but many helpers was introduced by Canadian soldiers who had liberated the Netherlands during World war 2 and helped organise the first post-war Sinterklaas celebration
In other regions where Sinterklaas is celebrated, like southern Belgium or Northern France, Saint Nicholas has different companions.

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Taken on: November 16, 2008
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Camera: Olympus C765UZ, f/4.0, 1/200 sec, 16.6mm, ISO 64 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Olympus C765UZ
Aperture: f/4.0
Exposure Time: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length: 16.6mm
ISO: 64
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Creative (Slow speed)
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Picasa 3.0
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