Netherlands - Sinterklaas protest and celebration

Centuries old tradition from which Santa Claus is derived, Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas, a bishop and patron saint of children arrives in the Netherlands before the Sinterklaas celebration on Dec 5. He is accompanied by young African looking helper called Zwarte Piet or Black Pete, a black servant of slave descent. White Dutchmen paint their faces black, put on red lipstick, woolly Afro wigs a Dutch cultural institution for most but an offense for some. Number of Surinamese and Antillean protesters say that Black Pete is discriminatory and is not a suitable character for the 21st century. A United Nations working group is scheduled to present a report to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Photo by John van Hasselt (Photo by John van Hasselt/Corbis via Getty Images)