• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    45
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    In the Netherlands, we actually celebrate Sinterklaas (St Nicolas) on december 5th. It is when this guy comes to the houses of children to give them presents, like Santa does in the US, for instance. I even heard people say that Santa was derived from the figure of Sinterklaas, but I am not sure whether it is true.

    In the weeks before Sinterklaas comes to the house, children put their shoes near the fireplace (and if they do not have a fireplace usually near the heater). They might sing some special Sinterklaas songs and put a carrot in their shoe for the which horse that Sinterklaas rides. Then during the night Sinterklaas and/or his helper Piet come on through the chimney and put smallngifts in the shoes. There are also a lot of other traditions around the Sinterklaas celebrations and there are cadies and cookies that are only eaten around this time like pepernoten and speculaas.

    Sinterklaas has become controversial over the last few years, because according to the stories, he has helpers who are all called ‘zwarte Piet’ (black Pete). White people playing this character painted their phases brown or black and put on colorful clothing and black curly hair as well as making their lips red and put rings in their ears sometimes. One side of the argument says that they were representing black people or even slaves and basically that this was a case of blackface. The other side of the argument said that Piet was black because he came through the chimney and that this was not blackface. They also say that it does not matter to children whether Piet is black.

    The people saying that Piet is racist seem to be winning the discussion. In most of the larger cities, Piet now looks less like a charicature of a black person and more like someone who came through the chimney. In other places they still have the traditional zwarte Piet. There is even some violence in some cases, where the people who think that Piet is a racist charcter will protest against it during the public parts of the celebrations for the children. They then get violently attacked by the people wanting to keep the tradition as it is

    • Ann Archy
      link
      2410 months ago

      Putting carrots in shoes by the fireplace is the most Netherlandsly thing I have ever heard.

      You guys are so harmlessly weird.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        1810 months ago

        reads post about potentially racist Christmas characters and violence due to disagreements over this racism

        Calls them harmlessly weird ¯_(ツ)_/¯

        I’m just joking but found that kind of funny :)

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          410 months ago

          I’m so kooky, just putting this shoe polish all over my face.

          So quirky, heading out to be a Christmas minstrel.

          Too zany, punching some protesters that want me to stop.

          • Ann Archy
            link
            4
            edit-2
            10 months ago

            Excentrically tattooing swastikas on my face.

            edit: jesus, “Christmas minstrels” was not something I expected from the jolly season.

        • Ann Archy
          link
          3
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Hm? That is not an article I have read. All I know is something about resurrected pickle babies. And carrots.

          Ah, the comment you mean! Well, I’m glad I stopped reading before that part. It’s the only way to stay sane nowadays.

        • @samus12345
          link
          English
          110 months ago

          Dutch Santa doesn’t have reindeer.

    • @Viking_Hippie
      link
      910 months ago

      Wait, Sinterklaas has a witch horse? How does that work?

      Like, does the horse cast spells or curse people? Does it wear a pointy black hat? Does Sinterklaas ride a horse that, in turn, rides a broom?

      Or is it a horse he adopted after a witch didn’t want it anymore? If so, what did the witch need a horse for when she had the broom? As a pack animal? For companionship? To disguise the fact that she’s a witch while traveling above walking speed?

      • NightFantom
        link
        fedilink
        1210 months ago

        It’s a white horse, OP’s spell checking failed a few times

        • @Viking_Hippie
          link
          5
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Aww, I’d become enamored with the idea of a witch horse pouts 😁

        • @gmtom
          link
          110 months ago

          Lmao I hope the witch horse has better spell checking or someone is gonna have a bad time

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      610 months ago

      The 5th of December?? In Germany, we celebrate it on the 6th in the morning, and we are the people who celebrate Christmas on the 24th (evening or afternoon)

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              210 months ago

              Tbf this was before nation states so the modern borders of Spain didn’t exist yet so why no include modern day Turkey (which existed neither, nor was it populated my the linguistically and culturally ancestors of the modern Turks).

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                110 months ago

                I did not know that. That is actually a really good explanation for that. Shows how old the tradition is.

        • @Bashnagdul
          link
          110 months ago

          6 december is the birthday of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands as well. Pakjesavond is 5 december.

    • @samus12345
      link
      English
      410 months ago

      Similar to what they do in Germany, except his helper’s name is Ruprecht. And thankfully, he’s not black.

      The other side of the argument said that Piet was black because he came through the chimney and that this was not blackface.

      Yeah, gonna call bullshit on that.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        410 months ago

        Yes, it is bullshit. You do not get black curly hair, red lips and earrings by going through the chimney.

    • Franzia
      link
      fedilink
      310 months ago

      Hey thanks Ive heard this story, basically through a game of telephone, and basically believed dutch people are wicked racist

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        2
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        Well, some of them are. However, I think one of the problems is that if you grow up with this celebration, it is a normal part of your life. White children do not get confronted with racism a lot, so they might not think about it and not notice that it is racist. At least, that was the case for me. Zwarte Piet was just the nice helper of Sinterklaas who brought me presents. I loved Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.

        But as soon as someone said something, I knew they were right and I have been against Zwarte Piet ever since. For some people, it seems very hard to change their view of Zwarte Piet. It someone you loved when you grew up and now all of a sudden that makes you a racist? And they get defensive and even aggressive, unfortunately. It is still a heated debate, but the people wanting to change Zwarte Piet are winning, fortunately.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          210 months ago

          The only thing I am sad about is that the children now recognise who piet is. All though I do agree how zwarte piet is pretty racist/weird/outdated.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      210 months ago

      I even heard people say that Santa was derived from the figure of Sinterklaas, but I am not sure whether it is true.

      Sinterklaas. Santa Claus. Sounds pretty related to me.

  • @KISSmyOS
    link
    43
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    deleted by creator

  • @RizzRustbolt
    link
    3310 months ago

    It’s not necromancy if they were pickled.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    2410 months ago

    Thanks for this. It never occurred to me to look into St. Nicolas, even though it’s my name, and he’s way more awesome than I though.

    A patron of prostitues, hell yeah. I guess that explains my Mark of Slaneesh scarification.

  • @beebarfbadger
    link
    2210 months ago

    Well, clerics do get Resurrection at spell level what, five? Maybe seven?

    • @uid0gid0
      link
      410 months ago

      Revivify at 5th, Raise Dead at 9th, Resurrection at 13th, and True Resurrection at 17th. The different spells have their own requirements. Revivify has to be cast within one minute and can’t restore missing limbs, for example. True Resurrection doesn’t even require a body, just speak their name.

      • @beebarfbadger
        link
        210 months ago

        just speak their name

        “John Smith.”

        please hold

        loading

        loading

        loading

        • aluminiumsandworm
          link
          fedilink
          310 months ago

          framerate drops to 2 fps

          10000 identical johns smith appear clipping into each other

          physics engine goes haywire and the room turns into a mess of spinning viscera

  • FuyuhikoDate
    link
    fedilink
    2210 months ago

    Hey Morty… buuurp I… I am ressurecting pickled children Morty! I have now pickled children! I AM PICKLED NECROMANCER RIIIIICK!!!

  • @TotallynotJessica
    link
    21
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    Necromancy is fine with Christians when their God does it, but evil when other gods do it. The Abrahamic god is the god that conquers all other gods, stealing their power for himself and turning them into his servants. Then the asshole encourages his followers to turn against each other so they have more motivation to keep him central to their lives.

    Gods in general aren’t really necessary anymore, but they’re kind of like meta organisms, quasi living things. They fights back against threats to their own existence, encouraging humanity to remain subservient instead of recognizing our true place as the highest authority.

    • Roekoee
      link
      fedilink
      1310 months ago

      This sounds like Christianity in a D&D or Warhammer setting. Sounds pretty metal. You okay though?

      • @TotallynotJessica
        link
        810 months ago

        I’m fine, but my description isn’t that far off from how Abrahamic religions took over the globe. People used to have patron gods that they followed or favored, but it wasn’t as common to deny the existence of other gods until Christianity popularized it, demanding that only God exists. Other gods were retconned into angels, demons, or saints. Gods often had aspects of reality they controlled, but the Abrahamic God became the master of everything, with all former gods only acting to fulfill God’s will. Zeus or Thor were once gods that controlled lightning, but Christians asserted that “It was me, Dio!”

        Explicit organizations and informal cultures behave like living organisms at large scales. They evolve, adapt, and reproduce in the minds of people. Humans made ideas as tools for aiding our survival, but the ideas and organizations themselves often use people like tools to ensure their own existence. That’s the wild thing about these meta organisms: They don’t physically exist in reality, but it’s helpful to think of them that way because they’re mechanically similar to real lifeforms. The ideas that don’t adapt or prove useful die out, while the ones that stay useful or adapt to new environments survive. It was never a marketplace of ideas, but an ecosystem of ideas.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      510 months ago

      The Abrahamic god is the god that conquers all other gods, stealing their power for himself and turning them into his servants.

      So… The Borg?

      • @SkybreakerEngineer
        link
        English
        210 months ago

        What is the mission of a missionary if not “your culture will adapt to service us”

  • Flying Squid
    link
    1610 months ago

    Always remember to be careful when canning pickled baby. You don’t want it to go bad and ruin all that work.

  • @KISSmyOS
    link
    2
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    deleted by creator

  • @KISSmyOS
    link
    1
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    deleted by creator

  • @KISSmyOS
    link
    1
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    deleted by creator