Photo: Brian L. Jensen for Lokalavisen Frederiksberg
For about 40 [extremely long] years the World Santa Claus Congress has been meeting each July in Copenhagen. Over 100 "authorised" Father Christmasses meet up to discuss the upcoming Yuletide season.
It's was a gimmick started by Dyrhavsbakken - the world's oldest amusement park located north of Copenhagen dating from 1583 - four decades ago and each summer all these guys travel about the city to events. They traditionally take a dip in the sea and this year they decided to go for a bike ride.
It's a crappy photo of a newspaper cover of a strange event but by god it's people on bicycles in Copenhagen so I'll blog that shit. And no, I have no idea who the geezer is on the left so don't ask. And if you know, don't tell me.
5 thinking out louds:
Mikael, Even if you don't wanna know perhaps some readers might find it pretty funny... Maybe the dude in blackface is one of these guys:
Sinterklaas arrival parade in Amsterdam
of course!!! i actually knew that now that you say it. the dutch father christmas! thanks.
I understand that I am coming from a US perspective. And I desire to approach the rest of the world with humility. However, I do think growing up in multi-cultural America teaches some Americans valuable lessons about racism and the ills of an ideology of white supremacy that may be worth considering in a newly diversifying Europe. Zwarte Piet has a relationship to Dutch Colonialism, the slave trade, and continuing legacy of first world domination of the third.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet
It is with that in mind, that I think it worth recognizing that black-face minstrelsy is a tradition worth challenging. I think not only can we Copenhaganize the planet but we can also show some solidarity with the rest of humanity by not laughing at this imagery, and perhaps refraining from its dissemination.
adam, while i understand the point, you can't really be serious. multi-culturalism has thrived in america... as long as you were white and european.
when did african-americans get the vote? hmm.
Where does your logic extend to? Most early American presidents were, in modern eyes, white supremicists and yet they are now revered. General Custer is an American icon.
The Queen of Denmark has some nastly, dodgy characters on her family tree, should we blame her for that and remove her image from our coins?
When Europe looks to learn lessons about further developing multi-cultural societies... sorry, but the US doesn't register on the radar of inspiration sources.
Zwarte Piet has a dodgy history, too. But in religious societies people bang on about the religious fables about Christmas, even though the mono-theistic religions have more death, pain and suffering on their consciousness' than anyone else in history.
Just looking for logic...
Ouch!
FYI: If you look carefully through the pictures in the link I posted in 16:48 you'll actually see black (african-europeans for the politically correct?) zwarte pieten and everybody, of all colors, natural and painted, seems to be having a great time being silly. No, I'm not sure what that means but I'm guessing it has something to do with not taking such things too seriously.
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