Zwarte Piet: Photos of Holland’s Racist Christmas Tradition

Whenever you start to feel bad about race relations here in the U.S., it’s always nice to remember that Europe is approximately one million times more f’d up. Take Holland’s beloved Christmas tradition of Black Pete (Zwarte Piet), Santa’s black slave in a court jester outfit. Santa, as the story goes, has captured Black Pete and forced him to accompany him on his rounds. If you are a good little Dutch boy or girl, Santa will bring you presents. But if you are naughty, Black Pete will abduct you and take you back with him to Spain.

So here’s a little Christmas treat for you to enjoy the next time some Euro starts jabbering about how Americans have such hangups about ze nudity. Dutch people dressed up as Zwarte Piet in Christmas parades and local festivities: