Krampus the Christmas demon and the Black Pete discussion
Given the increasingly intense discussion that has been taking place in recent years about whether or not the character 'Zwarte Piet' is' racist, I have here a story that will nullify the whole 'racism' thing about Zwarte Piet!
Zwarte Piet is based on KRAMPUS, the Christmas demon.
The video below explains the story of Krampus. The story of Krampus has many parallels with that of Zwarte Piet. Krampus was a demon who was released on the night of December 5 to carry 'naughty' children in the bag he had hanging on his back.
If you watch this video, you will no longer see Zwarte Piet in a racist light.
Zwarte Piet is in fact a 'changed' caricature of KRAMPUS by tradition. To make him less scary and to make it exciting for the children, 'Zwarte Piet' was blackened and he no longer looked as horribly demonic as Krampus. This is done to make children feel awe of adults.
When you're sweet you get goodies, if you're naughty, you have to go into the bag, and that's exactly what Krampus stands for.
The story of Zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas is not that very 'innocent', if you know the story of KRAMPUS, but hey, a little legend makes life mysterious and exciting again, doesn't it?
Probleem opgelost...