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In the Netherlands Saint Nicolas (often called "De Goede Sint" — "The Friendly Saint") was originally aided by slaves, commonly known as Zwarte Piet ("Black Peter"). Some tales depict Zwarte Piet beating bad children with a rod or even taking them to Moorish Spain in a sack. Some consider the legend of Zwarte Piet to be racist because it refers to Saint Nicholas having African slaves work for him in the days before pakjesavond (the 5th of December — the day on which presents are opened), even though the Zwarte Pieten are not depicted as slaves nowadays.
Some accounts state that Zwarte Piet started his "career" as a slave, but not in service of Saint Nicholas. This version tells that Saint Nicholas bought Zwarte Piet from a slavetrader and then set him free.[citation needed] The grateful Zwarte Piet had nowhere to go, as he was separated from his relatives and had no work to support himself, and so Saint Nicolas offered him a job. Some say that this job was listing children's wishes for Boxing Day, others say that Zwarte Piet was keeping track of all the bad children in order to capture them in a sack and take them back to Spain. In recent decades this story has been altered and the former slaves have become modern servants who have black faces because they climb through chimneys and get blackened by the soot from the fire.
Sinterklaas wears clothing similar to a bishop's. He wears a red mitre (a liturgical headdress worn by bishops and abbots) with a 'golden' cross and carries a bishop's staff. The connection with the original bishop of Myra is still evident here.
Presents given during this feast are often accompanied by poems, sometimes fairly basic, sometimes quite elaborate pieces of art that mock events in the past year relating to the recipient (who is thus at the receiving end in more than one sense). The gifts themselves may be just an excuse for the wrapping, which can also be quite elaborate. The more serious gifts may be reserved for the next morning. Since the giving of presents is Sinterklaas's job, presents are traditionally not given at Christmas in the Netherlands, but commercialism is starting to tap into this market.
The Zwarte Pieten are roughly to the Dutch Saint Nicolas what the elves and reindeer are to America's Santa Claus. According to tradition, the saint has a Piet for every function: there are navigation Pieten to navigate the steamboat from Spain to Holland, or acrobatic Pieten for climbing up the roofs to stuff presents through the chimney, or to climb through themselves. Throughout the years many stories have been added, mostly made up by parents to keep children's belief in Saint Nicolas in tact and to discourage misbehaviour. In most cases the Pieten are quite lousy at their job, such as the navigation Piet (Dutch "wegwijs piet") pointing in the wrong direction. This is often used to provide some simple comedy in the annual parade of Saint Nicolas coming to the Netherlands, and can also be used to laude the progress of children at school by having the Piet give the wrong answer to, for example, a simple mathematical question like 2+2, so that the child in question is (or can be) persuaded to give the right answer.
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