Black Peters

Originally posted by flexmore
They were the helpers of Sinterklaas before coca-cola got their hands on the whole thing.

I have heard they would beat the bad kids while the good kids got presents.

Any truth in this ? What else should i know?

Yes, the Black Peters put the bad boys in a bag and brought them to Spain. Or they could get a punishment with a rod. In the past the Sinterklaas celebration was especially in the countryside a rough game. Young helpers of St. Nicolas went from door to door looking for evil-doers. These helpers were dressed up as devilish people.

But there are more explanations about the origin of the Black Peters. They are also connected with the Moors. For some reason Dutch people believe St. Nicolas came from Spain and had Moors as servants.
In reality St. Nicolas never touches the Spanish soil. But he has become in the church the protector of the sailors. Probably the story came from Dutch sailors at the end of the Middle Ages.. They had strong ties with Spain.

In the seventies and eighties there has been a lot of discussions about all this. It changed the image of the Black Peters quite a bit. Children are not afraid of them any more. They see them as jolly friends.. At the top of the anti-discrimination period some groups invented White Peters, but they have (almost) disappeared again.

It is a really nice celebration. But just as with X-mas there are some nasty edges in it. Why does Sinterklaas and Santa Claus give big presents to children with rich parents? You would think kids with poor parents would deserve it more. Who knows the answer?

Originally posted by fjord
It changed the image of the Black Peters quite a bit. Children are not afraid of them any more. They see them as jolly friends.

yes, i remember the year celebration at the waldorf school my son used to go to. black peters would go to the classrooms appropriately dressed. it was all great fun and the kids loved it.

i hadn't heard of black peters till waldorf which has a tradition of celebrating various traditions.

in friendship,
prad

ps fjord, i look forward to your posts about these things. not only are they interesting and well written, they also give us an incite into where our present 'traditions' came from.

Originally posted by flexmore
They were the helpers of Sinterklaas before coca-cola got their hands on the whole thing.

I have heard they would beat the bad kids while the good kids got presents.

Any truth in this ? What else should i know?

I think you should know they are also the result of a vasectomy gone bad😵