Editing Sinterklaas (section)

==Figures==
===Sinterklaas===
''Sinterklaas'' is based on the historical figure of Saint Nicholas (270–343), a Greek bishop of [[Myra]] in present-day Turkey. He is depicted as an elderly, stately and serious man with white hair and a long, full beard. He wears a long red cape or [[chasuble]] over a traditional white bishop's [[alb]] and a sometimes-red [[stole (vestment)|stole]], dons a red [[mitre]] and ruby ring, and holds a gold-coloured [[crosier]], a long ceremonial shepherd's staff with a fancy curled top.<ref>[https://www.lecavzw.be/tradities/rituelen/sinterklaas "Sinterklaas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703184516/https://www.lecavzw.be/tradities/rituelen/sinterklaas |date=3 July 2022 }}, Landelijk Centrum voor Cultuur van Alledag (LECA)</ref>

He traditionally rides a [[white horse]]. In the Netherlands, the televised Sinterklaas specials have named the horse. Until 2019, Sinterklaas rode Amerigo, who was "pensioned" (i.e., died) and replaced with a horse called Ozosnel ("oh so fast"), after a passage in a well-known Sinterklaas song.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ad.nl/show/937-000-kijkers-voor-sinterklaasjournaal-maar-waar-is-amerigo~a927eb33 |title=Oh zo Snel {{!}} |website=www.ad.nl |access-date=22 November 2019}}</ref> In Belgium, the horse is named ''Slecht weer vandaag'', meaning "bad weather today"<ref>[https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2017/11/26/25-jaar-geleden-kwam-de-1e-aflevering-van--dag-sinterklaas--op-t/ "25 jaar geleden kwam de 1e aflevering van "Dag Sinterklaas" op tv"], Alexander Verstraete, VRT NWS, 26 November 2017</ref> or ''Mooi weer vandaag'' ("nice weather today").<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 December 2014 |title=Sint met paard en koets op Markt |trans-title=Saint Nicholas with horse and carriage on Market Square |url=https://www.hln.be/gavere/sint-met-paard-en-koets-op-markt~a1e3bda2/ |url-access=registration |website=Het Laatste Nieuws |language=nl-be}}</ref>

Sinterklaas carries a big, red book which traditionally records whether each child has been good or naughty in the past year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1001gedichten.nl/sinterklaas-gedichten/ |title=Sinterklaas gedichten {{!}} Kies nu jouw leuke sinterklaasgedicht! |website=www.1001gedichten.nl |access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref>

===Zwarte Piet===
{{Main article|Zwarte Piet}}

Sinterklaas is assisted by ''[[Zwarte Piet]]'' ("Black Pete"), a helper dressed in Moorish attire and in a black painted face. Zwarte Piet first appeared in print as the nameless servant of Saint Nicholas in ''Sint-Nikolaas en zijn knecht'' ("St. Nicholas and His Servant"), published in 1850 by Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman; however, the tradition appears to date back at least as far as the early 19th century.<ref>E. Boer-Dirks, "Nieuw licht op Zwarte Piet. Een kunsthistorisch antwoord op de vraag naar de herkomst", ''Volkskundig Bulletin'', 19 (1993), pp. 1–35; 2–4, 10, 14.</ref> Zwarte Piet's colourful dress is based on 16th-century noble attire, with a [[Ruff (clothing)|ruff]] ([[lace]] collar) and a feathered cap. He is typically depicted carrying a bag which contains candy for the children, which he tosses around, a tradition supposedly originating in the story of Saint Nicholas saving three young girls from prostitution by tossing golden coins through their window at night to pay their [[dowry|dowries]].

Traditionally, he would also carry a birch rod (Dutch: ''roe''), a [[chimney sweep]]'s broom made of willow branches, used to spank children who had been naughty. Some of the older Sinterklaas songs make mention of naughty children being put in Zwarte Piet's bag and being taken back to Spain. This part of the legend refers to the times that the [[Barbary slave trade|Moors raided the European coasts]], and as far as Iceland, to abduct the local people into slavery. This quality can be found in other [[companions of Saint Nicholas]] such as [[Krampus]] and [[Père Fouettard]].<ref>''Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean'', the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800, Robert Davis, 2004</ref> In modern versions of the Sinterklaas feast, however, Zwarte Piet no longer carries the ''roe'' and children are no longer told that they will be taken back to Spain in Zwarte Piet's bag if they have been naughty.

Over the years many stories have been added, and Zwarte Piet has developed into a valuable assistant to the absent-minded saint. In modern adaptations for television, Sinterklaas has developed a Zwarte Piet for every function, such as a Head Piet (''Hoofdpiet''), a Navigation Piet (''Wegwijspiet'') to navigate the steamboat from Spain to the Netherlands, a Presents Piet (''Pakjespiet'') to wrap all the gifts, and Acrobatic Piet to climb roofs and chimneys.<ref>[http://nos.nl/artikel/565895-wie-is-die-zwarte-piet-eigenlijk.html nos.nl]; ''Wie is die Zwarte Piet eigenlijk?'', 23 October 2013</ref> Traditionally Zwarte Piet's face is said to be black because he is a [[Moors|Moor]] from Spain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forbes |first=Bruce David |title=Christmas: A Candid History |year=2007 |location=University of California Press}}</ref> Today, some children are told that his face is blackened with [[soot]] because he has to climb through chimneys to deliver gifts for Sinterklaas.

[[File:20191129 oude ijsselstreek roetveegpiet.jpg|thumb|A person in costume as the modernized "Sooty Pete" version of [[Zwarte Piet]] ]]
Since the 2010s, the traditions surrounding the holiday of Sinterklaas have been the subject of a growing number of editorials, debates, documentaries, protests and even violent clashes at festivals.<ref name="Felicity Morse">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/06/zwarte-piet-black-pete-christmas-dutch-netherlands_n_2249412.html |title=Zwarte Piet: Opposition Grows To 'Racist Black Pete' Dutch Tradition |last=Morse |first=Felicity |website=HuffPost |location=UK |access-date=27 October 2012}}</ref> In most cities and television channels now only display Zwarte Piet characters with some soot smudges on the face rather than full blackface, so-called ''roetveegpieten'' ("soot-smudge Petes") or ''schoorsteenpieten'' ("chimney Petes").<ref>{{cite web |date=2016-10-24 |title= RTL stopt met Zwarte Piet, voortaan alleen pieten met roetvegen |trans-title=RTL stops with Black Pete, from now on only Petes with soot marks |url=http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nederland/rtl-stopt-met-zwarte-piet-voortaan-alleen-pieten-met-roetvegen |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102034848/https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nederland/rtl-stopt-met-zwarte-piet-voortaan-alleen-pieten-met-roetvegen |archive-date=2 January 2018 |website=[[RTL Nieuws]] |language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2016-11-04 |title=Geen Zwarte Piet meer in Amsterdam, alleen Schoorsteenpieten |trans-title=No more Black Pete in Amsterdam, only Chimney Petes |url=http://nos.nl/artikel/2141314-geen-zwarte-piet-meer-in-amsterdam-alleen-schoorsteenpieten.html |website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]] |language=nl}}</ref> 
In a 2013 survey, 92 per cent of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist or associate him with slavery, and 91 per cent were opposed to altering the character's appearance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21993260/__VN_wil_einde_Sinterklaas__.html |title=VN wil einde Sinterklaasfeest – Binnenland &#124; Het laatste nieuws uit Nederland leest u op Telegraaf.nl [binnenland&#93; |date=22 October 2013 |website=De Telegraaf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220063529/http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21993260/__VN_wil_einde_Sinterklaas__.html |archive-date=20 December 2013 |access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> In a similar survey in 2018, between 80 and 88 per cent of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist, and between 41 and 54 per cent were happy with the character's modernised appearance (a mix of ''roetveegpieten'' and blackface).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/panels/opiniepanel/alle-uitslagen/item/onderzoek-zwarte-piet-is-genoeg-aangepast/ |title=Onderzoek: Zwarte Piet is genoeg aangepast |date=16 November 2018 |website=Een Vandaag |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Rapportage_zwarte_piet_def.pdf |title=Onderzoek: Rapportage Zwarte Piet |date=15 November 2018 |website=Een Vandaag |access-date=18 February 2019 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219020144/https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Rapportage_zwarte_piet_def.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
A June 2020 survey saw a drop in support for leaving the character's appearance unaltered: 47 per cent of those surveyed supported the traditional appearance, compared to 71 per cent in a similar survey held in November 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/item/niet-alleen-rutte-is-van-mening-veranderd-de-steun-voor-traditionele-zwarte-piet-is-gedaald-weblo/ |title=Niet alleen Rutte is van mening veranderd: de steun voor traditionele Zwarte Piet is gedaald - weblog Gijs Rademaker |date=17 June 2020 |website=Een Vandaag |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Mark Rutte]] stated in a parliamentary debate on 5 June 2020 that he had changed his opinion on the issue and now has more understanding for people who consider the character's appearance to be racist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2336254-rutte-ik-ben-anders-gaan-denken-over-zwarte-piet.html |title=Rutte: ik ben anders gaan denken over Zwarte Piet |date=5 June 2020 |website=NOS Nieuws |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref>