Reply #5: Sinterklaas is fading also because of a shift to the American-type Santa Claus [View All]

[mcscajun]

traditions.

I have to admit when I visited Amsterdam in late November a few years ago, I was taken aback by the ubiquitous display of Black Peters in store windows, bakeries, and even a group in full satin Renaissance costumes at my hotel for some party or other.

It's a different culture, without a history of blackface minstrelsy, so I'm reluctant to impose American sensibilities on it, but still, it was disconcerting.

On a lighter note, the business with the Chocolate and baked goods in the shapes of initials had to be explained to me, too. :)