Zwarte Piet

Zwarte Piet (Dutch: [ˈzʋɑrtə ˈpit]; Luxembourgish: Schwaarze Péiter; West Frisian: Swarte Pyt; Indonesian: Pit Hitam), also known in English by the translated name Black Pete, is the companion of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas; French: Saint-Nicolas; West Frisian: Sinteklaas; Luxembourgish: Kleeschen) in the folklore of the Low Countries. Traditionally, Zwarte Piet serves as an assistant to the saint and distributes sweets and gifts to well-behaved children.^[1][2]

The depiction of Zwarte Piet has gone through several changes since the mid 19th century. The earliest known illustration of the character comes from an 1850 book by Amsterdam schoolteacher Jan Schenkman and portrays him as a black Moor. This became the dominant representation of Zwarte Piet throughout the 20th century. Those portraying the traditional version of the character, since deemed a racial stereotype, usually put on blackface and colourful Renaissance attire in addition to curly wigs and bright red lipstick.^[3]

This version of Zwarte Piet became increasingly controversial beginning in the late 20th century and throughout the years that followed.^[2] Alternatives later debuted, among them multicolored Piets. By 2021 a revised version, dubbed Sooty Piet (Dutch: Roetveegpiet), had become more common than the traditional variant at public events and in television specials, films, social media, and advertising.^[4] Sooty Piet features the natural skin tone of the actors playing the character with soot marks created by streaks of dark makeup on their faces.