The squeals of excited Belgian and Dutch children will fill the air tomorrow night, when Sinter Klaas (Saint Nicholas) will distribute their presents. This year the Antwerp authorities have kindly allowed him to keep the cross on his mitre, after some discussion that it might upset the minorities, but the PC lobby lost. However, in a trade-off for the cross, he might have to lose his sidekick, Zwarte Piet, a kind of black-and-white minstrel.
Claims that Piet's face is black because he shimmies down the chimney - not because he's a caricature of an African - didn't impress the Moroccan street kids in the rough end of Amsterdam, who gave Sint a hard time, so Moroccans were hired to play Zwarte Piet and chase them off in Arabic. In 2005 Dutch broadcaster NOS changed the story and made Piet slide down a rainbow instead of a chimney, to explain the multi-coloured Piets who replaced the black ones that year. How long before Piet is carrying a gay umbrella and openly flaunting his civil partnership with Niklaas? It's political correctness gone mad, I tell you.
28 comments:
Gadzooks!
Why didn't anyone think of asking Ted Danson to reprise his blackface schtick?
You just can't win. Sometimes I think that everybody is so stupid that we're just going to end up sending everyone back into a latitudinal portion of the globe that most accurately reflects their respective melanomal shading and be done with it. For f*ck sake.
Honestly. If certain segments of the population desire to make up their own assinine mythology and dumbass traditions then go ahead and knock yourselves out. At some point this absurd asshattery must come to an end...most likely when the Anti Christ finally takes over and cancels all of them..but until that glorious day we all need to take a deep breath and concentrate on the important stuff. Like how awesome Britney looks in her new video and who Paris should pick for her new BF.
harrumph-a pum-pum
Hello Dolly! It's good to have you back where you belong!
I have a room devoted to icons, Madonnas, crucifixes - my Irish Gran's influence - and one of the Madonnas has a black face. I think she came from Greece and there was a reason for it - but can't remember why.
Like a Belgian commenter mentioned: this is akin to religious/ideological absurdity: Saint Nicolas is a *Christian
saint, not a muslim profet, and hey,
aren't we living in a predominantly (though secularized)
Christian country?
The migrant Moroccan-Muslim streetkids in Holland
(renowned for their relentless and ongoing physical attacks on Dutch gay natives, check my blog)
should learn one basic lesson:
their liberty to be a real pain should have long been stopped where the liberty of the natives to live their peaceful life began.
Political correctness in Holland has indeed gone mad Daphne,
just check this post of mine:
http://antwerp.wordpress.com/2006/11/21/holland-introduces-gay-role-models-for-muslims/
Quote:
"Quote: “Recent research showed that 80 percent of the Turkish and 88 percent of young Moroccans in the Netherlands would totally reject gays“.
Tolerance: wasn't it supposed to be a two way street?
And we are whining about whether or not "Sinterklaas" is allowed to were a small cross, pathetic...
Now I'm confused - I always thought that Santa was gay. As for the Moroccans, how about letting them play Santa's elves? There are never enough roles to go round in these Christmas productions.
Nicolas de Bari évêque de Myre ( Saint Nicolas ou Sinterklaas )Ne pas oublier Qu'il est originaire d'Asie mineure donc d'un teint hâlé.
Selon les scandinave il est inspiré du dieu Odin ! En rouge pourquoi ?? La couleur des évêques est invariablement le violet !
Revisité et accompagné du "Père Fouettard" dit "Zwarte Piet" ou "Hans Trapp" en alsacien ,selon moi représente soit un mineur ,un charbonnier ou un ramoneur en fonction des région !
Nicolas of Bari bishop of Myre (Holy Nicolas or Sinterklaas) not to forget That it is native Asia minor therefore of a tanned complexion. According to the Scandinavian one it is inspired god Odin! In red why?? The color of the bishops invariably is the violet! Revisited and accompanied of the "Father Fouettard" says "Zwarte Piet" or "Hans Trapp" in Alsatian, according to me represent be a minor, a coalmining or a chimney sweep according to the regions!
Do I need to explain why the minors?? (And their holy one patronizes! of which the dates are so close.)
I forgot!! The fine one "Santa Claus" of which certain doubles soon will invade the stores, and that do to cry the children, are of a rather doubtful nature! They attract the small ones with candies
for next to take them on their knees ... to meditate!!
Yey, Daphne's back!!
Oh and Santa is gay... he's never been tempted by my sausage rolls...
Sx
Welcome back, Daffers. Santa should be gay - it's always the gay uncles who give the best presents at Christmas.
I thought Ecksmas was supposed to be all about gett- I mean giving presents and that, so why spoil it with Christian saints?
Just trying to picture the BBC bringing back the B&W Minstrel Show - Jonathon Ross blacked up, down on one kneee singing Mammy! The switchboard would be lit up like an Ecksmas tree, very festive. I think I'll ask them to air it after the Queen's speech, should liven things up a bit.
Personally, I find the creepy old white man more frightening than young handsome Piet.
Chacun ses préjugés !
Can't be long before he goes the way of the Pace Eggers and the Coconutters.
Roy Castle (from previous post) - 80 comments indeed! Why didn't I think of retiring before? Hardly recordbreaking, some people regularly get over 100 comments.
Donn, yesterday I saw two Black Piets with Sinterklaas in the Grand'Place, a black lady in the crowd was in fits of (nervous) laughter.
Pat, black Madonnas are to be found all over Europe, which is odd, because Jesus as we all know was blond with blue eyes. As a token of my faith I have a crucifixion fridge-magnet.
Peter, they might be homophobic over here, but how many of them have got holiday jobs as poolboys in Tangier? Hmmm?
GB, good idea. Although I'm not sure how you'd persuade streetwise (and homophobic) Moroccan teenage boys to wear tights.
Crabtree, only the French would bring a whip into the Christmas proceedings. Is that to honour the memory of the Marquis de Sade?
Scarlet, I've heard he keeps kosher, maybe you should leave a matzo next year.
Gadjo, my uncles were all straight and just gave me money. Gay uncles would have more imagination.
Farty, now you're talking! It would just about fit with Wossy's return to the screen, let him wear blackface in guise of sackcloth and ashes. Anything that upsets Robert Mugabe is OK in my book.
AverageAmerican, I bet you've got a poster of Barack over your bed. I don't think he is, personally.
Kevin - welcome! I've heard about you from Scarlet and Mrs P. - all good. Are you a Bacup man by any chance? With that delightful musical lilt? Zwarte Piet was still around, yesterday at least, in Brussels city centre.
Are the sadistes at the north which the Santonniers are at the south!?
Between the two all a world, that awaits only the christmas magic:)
Selon les régions, le conte de Noël français s'inspire de la géographie, la faune, la flore ou la vie quotidienne. Ainsi, la très belle légende de la sauge met en vedette la sainte Famille et trois plantes que l'on retrouve en Provence.
Au Canada français on y retrouve des récits d'origine française où des punitions sont infligées aux mécréants qui refusent la charité à autrui la nuit de Noël, d'autres où des âmes charitables sont récompensées pour leur bonté envers les démunis.
(Ils pactisent avec le diable ! Loup-garous et feux-follets y côtoient "Tom Caribou" )
Pour finir !
«Venez, les bénis de mon Père, recevez en héritage le Royaume qui vous a été préparé depuis la fondation du monde. Car j'ai eu faim et vous m'avez donné à manger, j'ai eu soif et vous m'avez donné à boire, j'étais un étranger et vous m'avez accueilli...»
Cela ne vous rappelle rien ???
You the hostess that without manners...
Toi l'hôtesse qui sans façons
Daphne! How wonderful to see your triumphant return. My dear old grandmama came from the Salzkammergut region, and so I grew up with the beastly images - and the hideous realities - of Krampus and Perchten. The Perchten parades were particularly harrowing, but part of Krampus's schtick is to apply the birch to young women, so it all got a bit more thrilling when I reached giddy girlhood and beyond. How strange that these early experiences stay with one for so long. Character forming, really.
It's not just that children are in charge of everything nowadays, it's those who are themselves immature and undeveloped manage to divert everyone else with their petty tantrums.
the one thing i find most annoying about morroccans is that i'll be mistaken for one by the average Belgian. And yes I blame the morrocans; becuase I don't feel unnearned pride, I feel undeserved accusation
I knew Daffers wouldn't hold out for long. I'd blog again myself, if I could.
Must go now. Toast.
Being an under-the-thumb Algerian-Geordie whose only Christmas wish is that it fell in the height of Summer (no fun putting the ffffoutside lights up in fffffreezing fffffweather) I have to admit that I always enjoy sacrificing a plump turkey for Christmas.
If I sound a bit cross with religions it's because I prefer taking the unbeaten tracks rather than following the sacrificial flock.
Christmas is about spirit!
Colour is only glass deep.
Joyeux Noel
Daphne why would you think Kevin was from Bacup? If he is he could have gone to my old school - Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School- in which case he's a good egg,
Crabtree, merci pour la chanson! Oui les paroles me rappellent quelque chose - demande à mon locataire!
Mrs Pouncer, I spent a glorious summer in Salzburg in 1973. Curd Jurgens in Jedermann, and Leontyne Price at the festival - missed all of it as I was too busy sampling the local ale down the biergarten. O callow youth!
Jake, was that a veiled reference to my dinner party? Perhaps you should wear a big turban to remind the Belgians that you come from Leicester.
Hola, Aunty! Umbongoland's gain is our loss. Can you get Marmite over there for your toast? If not let me know, I'll send some over.
Wayay Krimo, nice photo! And a Happy Eid al Adha to you (excuse spelling).
Pat - Coconutters!
I'll bet they'll even have heard of Coconutters even in the savage wastes of Yorkshire!
Sorry to disappoint, I'm a Manc.
I'm sorry, as Pat knows, I've got a problem with Bacup and the Rossendale valley. I once lived next door to someone from there who was dangerously mad. It has marked me for life. I run screaming out of the room if I so much as hear Gracie Fields. Jane Horrocks is fabulous but "Booble" brings back terrible memories.
The only town north of Milton Keynes that has ever made me want to make a pitstop before Scotland is Liverpool. Don't even mention Middlesbrough.
For the tenant Ch'Ken, Mom Christmas, should put in her p' tit shoe ( !? )
Crabtree - elle est super! T'as tout compris, pas bête la guêpe ... ! 'Ch'Ken', c'est du Chticossais?
J'ai Googlé "barbie francaise", mais tout ce que j'ai trouvé c'était une espece de chanteuse de mes deux du nom de Bruni.
Meme pas francaise en plus !
pfffff.
Of course I did leave home at 16 but coco nutters and booble are as Greek to me.
I'm sorry you met a bad'un Daphne - like anywhere we would have the odd one and I'm sure, as bad as they come.
I don't know anybody who doesn't run a mile from "Our Gracie."
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