{"id":1170,"date":"2025-11-13T17:24:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fritzkohle.de\/?p=1170"},"modified":"2025-11-21T09:36:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T09:36:42","slug":"its-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fritzkohle.de\/?p=1170","title":{"rendered":"Its Thanksgiving!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

and why I (usually) do not celebrate it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim & Jill discuss this article in their podcast here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of Dutch\u2013German heritage, I grew up with the Dutch tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas (or Santa Claus). My mum would take us to the Dutch expat society in Stuttgart, and when it was my turn, I\u2019d sit on Santa\u2019s lap while Zwarte Piet \u2013 or Black Pete \u2013 handed me a present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009 I moved to the Netherlands, and a few years later people of colour began speaking out about the racist nature of Zwarte Piet. It had never been an issue for me \u2013 after all, I grew up with this tradition. Yet I couldn\u2019t help but notice how deeply offended people of colour were, so I made a short documentary about Zwarte Piet, which you can find here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, it was a no-brainer: Zwarte Piet had to change, or Sinterklaas simply couldn\u2019t be considered inclusive. Friends from Anglo-Saxon backgrounds were often shocked by the tradition. Today, many communities in the Netherlands no longer feature Zwarte Piet. Instead, you\u2019ll find yellow, orange, multi-coloured, or grey Piets \u2013 showing how Dutch traditions can evolve to remain inclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Fritz