THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Saint Nicholas, the gift-bearing patron saint of children, arrived in the Netherlands on Saturday amid a partial coronavirus lockdown that forced the cancellation of celebrations in many towns and cities.
The Dutch celebrate what they call Sinterklaas on Dec. 5 by giving gifts to children, but the saint arrives — legend has it — in the country weeks earlier in what is usually a nationwide party.
The celebrations have in recent years seen protests by activists against Sinterklaas' helper, Black Pete, who is often portrayed by white people in blackface makeup. Opponents call Black Pete a racist caricature, while supporters argue he is a harmless children's figure and part of Dutch tradition.
A nationally televised arrival celebration went ahead Saturday without the usual crowds of thousands of children and their parents amid a partial lockdown in the Netherlands aimed at reining in coronavirus infections.
Other towns and cities held online events and at least one town organized a drive-through celebration where children could see Sinterklaas from the socially distanced safety of cars.
In neighboring Belgium, the saint's official welcome in the port city of Antwerp was also banned, though the government said in a tongue-in-cheek letter that Nicholas wouldn't have to quarantine after arriving in Belgium from Spain, where he lives, and would be able to walk rooftops to drop gifts into chimneys even during curfew hours.
Belgian government ministers, however, cautioned St. Nicholas to "always respect distancing, wash hands regularly and wear a face mask," despite his long white beard.
Anti-Black Pete activists in the Netherlands planned a demonstration in Breda, one of several Dutch cities that have replaced Black Pete with a Gray Pete. Breda was not holding an official arrival ceremony for the saint.
