AMSTERDAM - An Amsterdam court ruled Thursday that the traditional figure known as Black Pete - the sidekick to the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus - is a negative stereotype of black people and the ...

Contributing writer Cathy Healy was in Amsterdam this year to see some of the festivities that surround the arrival of Sinterklaas – or the Dutch Santa Claus. If you’re naughty, not nice in the ...

In this Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, file photo, a child dressed as Black Pete waits for the arrival of Sinterklaas, in Dokkum, northern Netherlands. As many Dutch children eagerly anticipate the arrival ...

Racial tensions flared Saturday in the Netherlands’ city of Gouda. Gouda, home of the famous Dutch cheese with the same name, celebrated the arrival of Sinterklaas (aka Saint Nicholas & Santa Claus).

As Dutch children anticipate the arrival of their country's version of Santa Claus this weekend, critics and fans of his helper, Black Pete, are gearing up for protests that have become another ...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As Dutch children anticipate the arrival of their country's version of Santa Claus this weekend, critics and fans of his helper, Black Pete, are gearing up for protests that ...

For an American, watching a Sinterklaas parade, like the one I recently went to in Amsterdam, can be a bit of a shock. Because dancing around the dear old Dutch Santa are his helpers, known as Zwarte ...

A man dressed as old Dutch Santa rides a horse next to women dressed a Swarte Piete or Black Pete during an event on Nov. 23, 2013, in Rotterdam.

The Netherlands' controversial folk character of Black Pete, prominent in Dutch Christmas celebrations, will be changed over the next few years, phasing out perceived racist connotations of his ...