Comments by "Regis" (@Timbo5000) on "Why blackface is still part of Dutch holidays" video.

Yup
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The origin of Zwarte Piet is literally laid in the abolition of slavery. The story goes that saint Nicholas saved a slave and brought them to the Netherlands, where he is free. The slave, thankful for being freed, stays with Sinterklaas and acts as his servant. The story was created around the time we abolished slavery too, in SUPPORT of the abolition. And by the way, slaves were automatically free when setting foot in the Netherlands since before we started atlantic slavery to begin with. Slaves were never held in Europe, unless you go back to the times when Europeans had other European slaves. And fun fact about Zwarte Piet: there was originally only one black Pete, but after WW2 when the Canadians liberated us they celebrated Sinterklaas with us. The Canadians would all paint their faces black and this was the first time we had a group of black petes instead of just one. Ever since we celebrate it with a group of them. This is another example of how appearances deceive (a white man leading a group of black characters??? SLAVERY!) and how it's important to look to the actual meaning and history behind culture. Sinterklaas may have the appearance of being racist, but the actual background story is innocent and even originally anti-racist
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In the year 98 Roman historian Tacitus described how Germanic people painted themselves black as part of a tradition that is extremely similar to Sinterklaas of today. And all Germanic countries today have their own version of it. In the Netherlands we have Sinterklaas and black pete. In France it is Saint Nicholas and Père Fouettard. In Germany it is Saint Nicholas and Krampus. You are calling a 2000+ year old tradition racist. The origins of black pete is so old that our ancestors had never even seen an African in their entire life. Bit difficult to be racist back then. The origins is the yule festival of the Wild Hunt, in which Odin soars the skies followed by an army of black figures. Black pete is the modern and christianised version of that ancient tradition and you see similar cultural festivals all over Europe in which the black figure is slightly different. Don't talk about things you know nothing about.
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In the year 98 Roman historian Tacitus described how Germanic people painted themselves black as part of a tradition that is extremely similar to Sinterklaas of today. And all Germanic countries today have their own version of it. In the Netherlands we have Sinterklaas and black pete. In France it is Saint Nicholas and Père Fouettard. In Germany it is Saint Nicholas and Krampus. You are calling a 2000+ year old tradition racist. The origins of black pete is so old that our ancestors had never even seen an African in their entire life. Bit difficult to be racist back then. The origins is the yule festival of the Wild Hunt, in which Odin soars the skies followed by an army of black figures. Black pete is the modern and christianised version of that ancient tradition and you see similar cultural festivals all over Europe in which the black figure is slightly different. I studied the origins of black pete alrightm you're just confusing it with blackface ;)
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@denice.a3620 In the year 98 Roman historian Tacitus described how Germanic people painted themselves black as part of a tradition that is extremely similar to Sinterklaas of today. And all Germanic countries today have their own version of it. In the Netherlands we have Sinterklaas and black pete. In France it is Saint Nicholas and Père Fouettard. In Germany it is Saint Nicholas and Krampus. You are calling a 2000+ year old tradition racist. The origins of black pete is so old that our ancestors had never even seen an African in their entire life. Bit difficult to be racist back then. The origins is the yule festival of the Wild Hunt, in which Odin soars the skies followed by an army of black figures. Black pete is the modern and christianised version of that ancient tradition and you see similar cultural festivals all over Europe in which the black figure is slightly different. Odin was changed to Saint Nicholas and the black figure is supposed to be a boogeyman following him. But recently (1960s) he was changed from boogeyman to friend because this was better for children.
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@miracleminty And the negative things would be..... ? That he kind of reminds you of a racist blackface practice in the US even though it has nothing to do with it? That applying black paint to your face is already somehow an act of racism? The fun part is that the origins of black pete are so old that it can't possibly be racist. It's just in your mind. In the year 98 Roman historian Tacitus described how Germanic people painted themselves black as part of a tradition that is extremely similar to Sinterklaas of today. And all Germanic countries today have their own version of it. In the Netherlands we have Sinterklaas and black pete. In France it is Saint Nicholas and Père Fouettard. In Germany it is Saint Nicholas and Krampus. You are calling a 2000+ year old tradition racist. The origins of black pete is so old that our ancestors had never even seen an African in their entire life. Bit difficult to be racist back then. The origins is the yule festival of the Wild Hunt, in which Odin soars the skies followed by an army of black figures. Black pete is the modern and christianised version of that ancient tradition and you see similar cultural festivals all over Europe in which the black figure is slightly different.
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@Circee11 In the year 98 Roman historian Tacitus described how Germanic people painted themselves black as part of a tradition that is extremely similar to Sinterklaas of today. And all Germanic countries today have their own version of it. In the Netherlands we have Sinterklaas and black pete. In France it is Saint Nicholas and Père Fouettard. In Germany it is Saint Nicholas and Krampus. You are calling a 2000+ year old tradition racist. The origins of black pete is so old that our ancestors had never even seen an African in their entire life. Bit difficult to be racist back then. The origins is the yule festival of the Wild Hunt, in which Odin soars the skies followed by an army of black figures. Black pete is the modern and christianised version of that ancient tradition and you see similar cultural festivals all over Europe in which the black figure is slightly different.
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My father wears clogs in the garden. Neighbour doos too
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Thanks. I'm a half black Dutch guy and it was never racist to me. I grew up with it and seeing how positive black pete is... I used to love him, all kids did. There was never any harm in it. And you could even delve into the ancient origins of Sinterklaas as final proof that black pete isn't racist. Sinterklaas is heavily based on an old Germanic tradition called the Wild Hunt, including the black paint.
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dramatic effect for their propaganda
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Don't worry. Liking him doesn't make you racist. Zwarte piet isn't even meant to be racist. I'm half black and Dutch and I love zwarte piet.
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Sorry to disappoint you but Easter is a pagan holiday. Hell, most "christian" holidays are. Yes traditions such as easter and yule are eternal, even the suppressive church failed to get rid of them and instead tried to christianise them. It wasn't for lack of trying but luckily they failed to destroy European traditions, we all still celebrate them. Sinterklaas is originally pagan too btw. It's supposed to be the Wild Hunt and the celebration (including black face paint!) was first documented in the year 98 by Roman historian Tacitus. Pretty damn amazing that we still do that. Traditions never die, you have to kill us for them to die!
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