Black Pete detractors claim their feelings are hurt by the black-faced helper of St. Nicholas [Sinterklaas] in Dutch tradition, because he is a “racist caricature”.
Police arrested more than 100 protesters in the town of Maassluis, near Rotterdam, on Saturday where supporters and opponents of Black Pete literally had a face-off.
Every year in mid-November, Sinterklaas arrives by boat from Spain, according to the story Dutch children believe in, in a different Dutch city and this time is was Maassluis. It was already made known that the Petes in Maassluis would mostly be black or dark brown.
“We arrested about 100 people who were demonstrating in Rotterdam, where the protests were banned for the day,” the local police spokeswoman Lillian van Duijvenbode told the French news agency AFP.
According to folklore, the Spanish Moor Black Pete helps St. Nicholas as he decides which children have been well-behaved enough to receive gifts.
His current appearance comes from the 1850s children’s tale, with Afro hair, large red lips and a friendly appearance. The character is usually a white person in blackface.
Thousands of people celebrated the Maassluis event to mark the beginning of the Christmas season. This included a heavy police presence to protect St. Nicholas’ sidekick.
But the ban in place against protesting failed to deter angry leftist demonstrators. “We asked them to stop their demonstration at three different places in town, but they refused,” said van Duijvenbode.
The leftist protesters waited for the arrival of “Sinterklaas” near the Erasmus bridge to try and derail the arrival of the popular figure for Dutch children.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has appealed for calm in light of the Christmas season.
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