The Arrival of Sinterklaas in Groningen

Sinterklaas

In my Dutch class, we've been discussing some of the winter holiday traditions of the Netherlands. I learned that, instead of an overweight man from Finland delivering presents via a flying sleigh powered by eight tiny reindeer (Santa Claus), Dutch children receive their presents from a slender bishop who arrives on a boat from Spain (Sinterklaas). Both of these individuals derive from the story of Saint Nicholas, but it is not clear to me how one ended up in a remote part of Finland surrounded by elves and the other gets to live in the much milder Spanish climate. Additionally, the Dutch exchange presents on Sinterklaas Eve (December 5), while followers of the Santa Claus story must wait until Christmas Day (December 25).

Zwarte Piet

In my Dutch class, I also learned about Zwarte Piet, who is Sinterklaas’s helper. Actually, several friends warned me about the Zwarte Piet story beforehand, in order to prepare me for seeing a bunch of white people wearing blackface and Afro wigs - something that would certainly not be greeted with smiles and cheers in the USA (and rightly so!). The story behind all of this is that Zwarte Piet was a slave/servant of Sinterklaas who helped keep track of which children were worthy of presents and which children would receive the punishment of being stuffed in a sack and taken back to Spain on Sinterklaas’s boat (naughty Dutch children go on vacation to Spain instead of receiving a lump of coal, by the way). I’ve been told a "more politically correct" (albeit logically inconsistent) version of the Zwarte Piet story, which holds that the Piet characters are not in blackface, but are supposed to look like they are covered in soot from jumping down chimneys to deliver presents.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, and to explain the photos that I've posted here on my blog, it is necessary for my readers to know that Sinterklaas parades include large groups of people in blackface, and that this occurs without much protest or controversy from the onlookers (although this might have something to do with the fact that calling Zwarte Piet racist can get you arrested). 

Now that you’ve got some back story, I bring you my photos from the Sinterklaas Intocht (Arrival of Sinterklaas), which was celebrated in Groningen on the 19th of November.

Huge crowds on the way to see Sinterklaas

The first thing I noticed was that Groningen’s Sinterklaas celebration was extremely crowded. In fact, most of Groningen’s center was packed with folks who were on their way to catch a glimpse of the Sint (Sinterklaas's nickname). Honestly, the only time I’ve seen such a large crowd in the United States was on the way into a stadium before a football game.

An even bigger crowd at the epicenter, meeting Sinterklaas's boat

 When I finally arrived in the area where Sinterklaas would alight from his boat from Spain, I noticed that the parade procession was being lined up. The parade was set up to reflect Groningen’s rural location, with lots of horses and sheep in attendance to welcome Sinterklaas’s boat and lead him through the streets to his annual meeting with the mayor.

Horses preparing to guide Sinterklaas through Groningen

Sheep, also preparing for the Sinterklaas parade

Dogs herding the sheep along the parade route

During the parade, Zwarte Piets performed for the crowds and handed out pepernoten (little spiced cookies) to the children. In addition to the horses, sheep, and sheepdogs, there were also marching bands and a gang of unicyclists.

Zwarte Piet

Zwarte Piet Band

Marching Band #2

Marching Band #3

Horses

Mustachioed women following Sinterklaas on horseback

Unicycle Gang

A wagon full of gifts for the kids who are not stuffed into sacks and sent to Spain