Tonight in Belgium, Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children, will deliver presents, speculoos, tangerines and candy to all kids at home when they sleep... To be honest, I've never believed in Santa bringing presents on Christmas Eve, but I did believe in Saint Nicholas (even though we also receive presents on Christmas Eve!), so it is an important day for most Belgian kids. The week before, Saint Nicholas usually visits primary schools or shopping centres, or parades in bigger cities accompanied by some assistants. The issue is that Flemish and Walloon don't agree on what the assistant(s) look like, and the Flemish tradition is claimed to be racist by some people.
Zwarte Piet
Traditionally, in Flanders and the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas (or
Sinterklaas) arrives riding a beautiful horse and he is helped by Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), a black character with long curly hair, a puffy hat, big earrings and coloured Renaissance clothes. Usually, there is more than one Zwarte Piet. They are kind, playful and they work in Saint Nicholas's toy factory, a bit like Santa's elves. Children love them because they are funny, they dance, and they give them candy. Flanders and the Netherlands have a tradition of broadcasting the arrival of Saint Nicholas on a boat in the country from Spain. The issue is that the black characters are played by white people wearing wigs and a lot of blackface makeup, an impersonation that some people, including ones from the African community, found very offensive. Therefore,
anti-Zwarte Piet protests were organised in both Flanders and the Netherlands, sometimes supported or criticised by politicians.
Arrival of Sinterklaas from Spain in Groningen, The Netherlands (2015) - by Berkh
Père Fouettard
In the French- and German-speaking communities, the scenario is a bit different... First of all, Saint Nicholas (
Saint-Nicolas in French) doesn't ride a horse but a (more humble) donkey and kids usually leave a carrot on their livingroom/kitchen table to feed the donkey and find it half-eaten on the next day. More importantly, there are originally no black characters assisting Saint Nicholas in distributing gifts. Instead, there is this one guy called Père Fouettard ("Father Whipper") in French (Hanscrouf in Liège Walloon) who is a rather terrifying figure and only replaces Saint Nicholas in case kids misbehave. If so, he gives them lumps of coal or whip them instead of giving them the usual presents. Père Fouettard is often depicted as a grumpy white hermit with an ugly brownish dark robe, a big black or grey beard, messy hair and sticks or whips in his hand, or a bag full of them. His face is often dirty and black from the ash and dirt he gets inside the chimney... but he is certainly not a black man to us.
Southern Belgian Saint Nicholas with a donkey and Père Fouettard
Belgian compromise
In Brussels, a capital city with people from all over the world, local authorities had to make a choice, facing the problem of this double tradition of Père Fouettard and Zwarte Piet, and the negative opinions on the latter. Therefore, a decision was made for this year that, in order to stay politically correct, there was need for a change in the habits. This time, instead of white people playing black characters wearing makeup on their face, people of Brussels made... kind of a mix! During the visit of Saint Nicholas in Brussels Haven, you could see youngsters (white, black or other) wearing an outfit similar to that of Zwarte Piet, but their faces were only slightly covered with a bit of black makeup, making it look like ash and dust from chimneys, a bit like Père Fouettard. This still looks quite acceptable, doesn't it?
Saint Nicholas in Brussels with his assistants - whatever name you give them (Photonews)
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