Beautiful day out here, broad sunshine and some clouds
on the far horizon. 5C / 41F is quite cold, but there isn't much wind.
By the middle of next week, we could see a very windy spell.
Today
is 5 December, St Nicholas (or Sinterklaas in Holland). This year,
there has been a discussion in the Netherlands about whether St Nick's
helper, Black Peter (Zwarte Piet) is a throw-back to the bad ole days of
slavery. Whether it is politically correct to portray Zwarte Piet as a
serf, a servant. Well, a little while back I posted a rant to decry
this misconception. St Nicholas lies buried
in Spain, which was occupied by North African people who were
dark-skinned. They referred to Spain as Al Andalus. Small wonder they
still turn up in folklore. The Netherlands of the Seven Provinces fought
an eighty-year war of independence against the Spain of Philip II,
between 1568 and 1648. I think we, Dutch, should ditch the bullshit and
hold on to one of the few pieces of what I still regard as Dutch
culture. Not to let it be eclipsed by Santa Claus (American invention,
sorry), or political correctness. Please. Alsjeblieft :-)
The Christmas Illuminations were switched on yesterday, and that means that the funfair is in town as well.
The Christmas Illuminations were switched on yesterday, and that means that the funfair is in town as well.
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