An Anarchist Guide to Christmas
▻https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/an-anarchist-guide-to-christmas
It’s no surprise to discover that anarchist theorist Pyotr Kropotkin was interested in Christmas. In Russian culture, St. Nicholas (Николай Чудотворец) was revered as a defender of the oppressed...
Santa dead, archaeologists say - The Washington Post
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/10/04/santa-dead-archaeologists-say
First the good news:
Whoever told you that Santa Claus was an impostor with a fake beard collecting a Christmastime check at the mall or a lie cooked up by your parents to trick you into five measly minutes of quiet was, at minimum, misinformed.
The bad news: Santa Claus is definitely dead.
Archaeologists in southern Turkey say they have discovered the tomb of the original Santa Claus, also known as St. Nicholas, beneath his namesake church near the Mediterranean Sea.
Saint Nicholas of Myra (now Demre) was known for his anonymous gift-giving and generosity. People believed he’d put coins in the shoes of anyone who left them out for him on his feast day, Dec. 6.
Black Power Challenges a White Christmas in the Netherlands
▻http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/12/black-power-challenges-a-white-christmas-in-the-netherlands
Yesterday marked the closure of the annual celebration of Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus. Traditionally, the children’s festivity is an occasion for family fun and pleasure that unites a nation, but this year it has become a highly charged political battleground that is exposing a society increasingly more conservative and hostile towards people of color, while unleashing an unprecedented anti-racism movement that is empowering minorities and posing fundamental challenges to the Dutch establishment.
The story goes that on the evening of December 5, Saint Nicholas, a white elderly man wearing a red robe and riding a white horse rewards children with presents and sweets if they have behaved well during the past year. Unlike Santa Claus, however, his minions are not elves, but Zwarte Pieten, or Black Petes — black clown-like figures that appear in colonial dress with afro wigs, as well as big red lips and golden earrings. Yearly, white Dutch people paint their faces black and dress up to enact Zwarte Piet for the spectacle and entertainment of the country’s white majority.
Unsurprisingly, in a country with a bloody and controversial — but often neglected — history of colonialism and slavery, the figure that epitomizes this legacy in its most blatant expression has been the subject of criticism for years. Active attempts to ban Black Pete date back as early as 2003 when African, Surinamese and Antillean communities joined forces to demand that the House of Representatives to take action against this racist characterization of black people. At the time, Celestine Robles from the Dutch Global African Congress denounced the festivity for actively shaping negative perceptions of black Dutch people through the celebration of a “superior race” as embodied by Saint Nicholas in opposition to an “inferior race” as performed by the “silly slave/assistant Black Pete.” (...)
Nevertheless, a large majority of the country still sees Black Pete as a central and vital component of Dutch tradition and collective identity. This became most apparent when 20 opponents of the figure, among them Quinsy Gario and Patricia Schor, recently demanded the municipality of Amsterdam officially ban Black Pete from the annual, state-funded procession in the city. Unlike previous efforts, this step made media headlines and provoked debate on both national television and social media. The accusation of racism was initially received with disdain and mockery, which then turned into an occasion to unleash racist attacks and general fury after an independent U.N. investigator issued a letter urging the Dutch government to take positive action to change its tradition, further confirming that Black Pete is indeed “a living trace of past slavery and oppression, tracing back to the country’s past involvement in the trade of African slaves in the previous centuries.”
10 excuses most Dutch people make for racism
▻http://africasacountry.com/10-excuses-most-dutch-people-make-for-racism
Today was the day Sinterklaas and his little black slaves give candy to children, although nature got in the way somewhat. Anyway, as you’re aware #ZwartePiet (translated: Black Peter), how the helpers of Saint Nicholas are known–he is white and they come complete with golliwog-style wig, pronounced red lips, speak. (BTW, Dutch authorities felt Zwarte Piet […]
@mona : #lutte_sociale, #paganisme et #suisse // The Krampus Resurrected for #Wisconsin Protests | Death and Taxes
►http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/58915/the-krampus-resurrected-for-wisconsin-protests
Krampus is a pagan Alpine god from Switzerland (though found elsewhere, too) who accompanied St. Nicholas on his travels and served as his counterpoint: that is, he punished naughty children (appropriate in Wisconsin, no?). Krampus is one of many of St. Nicholas’ companions, who join him all over the world.
It seems that some of the Germanic peoples of Wisconsin have decided it was time to resurrect Krampus for neo-pagan political effect. It is great, symbolic theater, and I for one wish we could tap into the now virtually forgotten parts of our mythological heritage. It’s been a particular preoccupation of mine for quite some time, especially the prankster gods.