The Dutch Christmas tradition of Sinterklaas interestingly stretches outside of Europe and finds its way to Indonesia in Southeast Asia. We explore!
As soon as December is knocking on the door, the Netherlands immediately changes into a festive mood with chocolate letters, pepernoten (spiced cookies) and festive songs filling the stores and the streets.
This is all for one reason.
Sinterklaas.
This Dutch holiday is celebrated on December 5th and 6th every year and has found its roots in the Netherlands. But is not only celebrated across the small country.
It has bled into neighbouring Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany and northern France.
And it does not simply stop there.
This tradition stretches outside of Europe and finds its way to Indonesia in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has a long history of Dutch colonialism on its shores, and remnants of this history, among other Dutch traditions, remain in practice, although in a different form.
Sinterklaas is arguably one of the most prominent figures in modern Dutch culture.
Sinterklaas, sometimes also known as De (Goede) Sint (The (Good) Saint), is based on the patron saint of children – Saint Nicholas.
Arriving on a boat from Spain during the middle of November, Sinterklaas is the main figure of gift-giving and generosity in the Netherlands. Much like how Santa Claus and Father Christmas represent similar themes in many other countries.
This marks the beginning of the festive season in the Netherlands, and generally brings a period of many different traditions, such as the parade for the arrival of Sinterklaas.
However, much like Santa Claus and his elves, Sinterklaas also has helpers who assist Sinterklaas in the festive gift giving, where they will give sweets and small toys to well-behaved children who leave their shoes by the fireplaces of their homes.
These helpers are known as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), and they have gone through many depictions over the years.
Zwarte Piet was originally depicted as what is historically referred to as a Blackamoor figure from 1850. A highly racialised and culturally insensitive depiction of a person from sub-Saharan African descent.
This figure is now widely regarded as problematic.
Traditionally, people who celebrate Sinterklaas would dress up as Zwarte Piet by painting their entire face a solid black colour, wearing bright red lipstick and a curly-haired wig, paired with traditional clothing from approximately the Renaissance era.
This then opened the door to the Zwartepietendebat (Black Petes debate) in the Netherlands, where many people called out this depiction of the Zwarte Piet as racist and a very harmful stereotype.
However, others pointed out that Sinterklaas has mainly been an innocent tradition directed at children, and the folklore behind the Zwarte Piet derives from Dutch tradition.
There were also multiple protests against the traditional depiction of Zwarte Piet popping up in cities across the Netherlands, such as The Hague, Rotterdam and Eindhoven, some taking a more serious turn than others.
As a result of the Zwartepietendebat, alternatives to the traditional depiction of Zwarte Piet have emerged.
Among these alternative depictions are multicoloured Pieten (Petes), where people would either smudge or paint their face in various different colours (except for black).
Currently, the Roetveegpiet (Sooty Pete) is the revised version of the original tradition, and people generally use black makeup to smudge soot marks instead of painting their whole face a solid black colour. The red lipstick has also generally been abandoned, but the traditional Renaissance clothing still remains.
In 2020, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced publicly that his opinion had shifted regarding Zwarte Piet and the racial connotations it has, stating that he understands why people consider the character racist.
Following this, many international companies, such as Google and Amazon alongside many Dutch companies such as Coolblue and Bol have ceased their promotions using Zwarte Piet.
Additionally, the Vereniging van Openbare Bibliotheken (Association of Public Libraries) have made efforts to remove books depicting the Zwarte Piet from the libraries across the Netherlands.
Today, the Netherlands still continues to adapt their tradition surrounding Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Piet.
However, the main goal is to still preserve the nostalgia and the innocent nature surrounding Sinterklaas for the children who celebrate.
Due to a 300-year-long colonial history of the Dutch in Indonesia, some traditions still remain - one of these traditions being Sinterklaas.
Within Indonesia, in larger cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Manado, Sinterklaas celebrations can still be seen from both the Dutch diaspora and Indonesian families alike.
Although this is the same holiday, it must be noted that these celebrations can differ from the celebrations found in the Netherlands.
The story of Sinterklaas in Indonesia, similarly called Sinterklas, remains similar to that of the Netherlands.
A generous man with a white beard comes around to give presents to good children, with the Zwarte Piet as his helpers.
Historically, public parades would occur featuring Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, with one well-documented example being a 1947 procession in Tanah Abang, where the saint arrived in a convertible and greeted local crowds.
These Dutch cultural practices remained visible in Indonesia until the late 1950s.
However, this changed in 1957, when the Indonesian government under President Sukarno banned Sinterklaas celebrations during heightened tensions with the Netherlands over West New Guinea.
This moment, sometimes referred to as Zwarte Sinterklaas (Black Saint Nicholas) in political history, marked the end of public Sinterklaas festivities in Indonesia, along with protests against the Dutch rising across the archipelago following Indonesian independence.
Today, Sinterklaas remains present in Indonesia. But mainly within Dutch expatriate communities, international schools, and families connected to the Netherlands.
These groups organise annual Sinterklaas events in Jakarta, Bali, and other cities. Some families connected to the Netherlands are still teaching the next generation common songs from Sinterklaas.
Plus, Dutch customs are adapted to Indonesia as a result of differing external factors, such as the lack of chimneys and fireplaces in Indonesia due to the tropical climate. This results in children leaving their shoes by the front doors instead.
While the Zwartepietdebat in the Netherlands has remained as a hotly contested topic, Indonesia has a rather different experience surrounding the racialised image of Zwarte Piet.
Known in Indonesia as Pit Hitam, Sinterklaas celebrations in Batavia (modern day Jakarta) and Surabaya featured Pit Hitam dressed up in curly wigs, black facial makeup and rather exaggerated features which mirrored the older Dutch depiction of Zwarte Piet.
These depictions of Pit Hitam have been portrayed in public parades and school festivities, which then carried on and took a prominent role in the Dutch-Indonesian population.
After Indonesian independence and the 1957 banning of Sinterklaas, the tradition diminished but did not become extinct among the Dutch living in Indonesia and the Dutch-Indonesian population. However, Pit Hitam continued to appear in stark black makeup, which represented the historical depiction of the character rather than a more inclusive interpretation.
The Netherlands challenged the idea of the stark black makeup, red lips, gold chains and exaggerated features, while in Indonesia, it has not yet taken off.
As a result, Zwarte Piet in a Dutch context has gone through a series of changes following national pressure and debate, while in Indonesia, Pit Hitam exists in local and expatriate communities, which allows it to exist without the national controversy seen in the Netherlands.
Sinterklaas, Zwarte Piet and Pit Hitam exist as products of two different strains of a shared history.
In the Netherlands, Zwarte Piet exists as a highly contested figure that has since been adapted to preserve inclusivity within Dutch tradition and culture, leading to the adaptations of Roetveegpiet and alterations in how this figure is disseminated in the Netherlands through media and education.
In Indonesia, Pit Hitam primarily exists within families connected to the Netherlands, Dutch-Indonesian communities and international schools, which still maintains the racialised appearance of black makeup, exaggerated features and red lipstick without sparking national controversy.
These two countries have a shared history, yet maintain traditions in very different ways.
For those enthusiastic about travel, history and culture, these understandings and depictions of Sinterklaas and his helpers lead to different legacies in each country.
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