Blowing & Drifting

Today is Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, home of my expatriate sister, brother-in-law, and new niece. In many ways, the holiday is a traditional gift-giving event linked (more or less loosely) to Christian traditions. And then, my friends, there's the blackface worn by Sinterklaas' helpers, "Black Peters" or Zwarte Pieten. "Tradition states that Sinterklaas' helpers are not black slaves, but have black faces from sliding down chimneys to deliver presents." Uh, sure. If you're a naughty kid, they kidnap you and take you back to Madrid - you know, the capital of the country which brutally ruled the Netherlands for 150 years, and a place where, historically, Moors - Muslims! - have featured prominently.