The Span of Invisibility

                As Esquire writer David Sedaris travels through Europe, he casually inquires about the differing Christmas traditions of the European nations.  He finds that some countries open their presents on Christmas Eve, and others on Christmas morning.  But the most unique Christmas tradition can be found in Holland.

The Dutch Santa makes his rounds on December 5^th in celebration of Holland's St. Nicholas Day rather than on Christmas Day.  The Dutch tradition further conflicts with American tradition, for Santa Claus is much different in Holland.  The man we know as jolly and plump in America is painfully thin and dresses not unlike the Pope in Holland.  This is because the Dutch Santa is believed to have previously been a Turkish bishop before he took up his current occupation of being Santa Claus.   He lives in Spain and arrives in Holland by boat, an event which is televised each year.  Furthermore, the Dutch Santa visits the houses of children with “six to eight black men” (the people Sedaris met on his travels were not sure on the exact number).  These men were previously Santa’s slaves but now they are his good friends.  If the Dutch child was good, candy is left in their shoes, while if he or she was bad they are kicked by Santa and his friends or put in a sack and brought back to Spain.

While it is easy to laugh and poke fun at foreign traditions, it is more useful to make comparisons and discover relationships between these odd beliefs and something with which we are more familiar.  One such relationship can be found when comparing the Dutch Christmas traditions to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.  The (largely Caucasian) Dutch population is unable to give the exact number of black men who help Santa despite the fact that the tradition is centuries old.  One might offer the conclusion that Santa’s black helpers are invisible to the white population of Holland.

The Narrator of Invisible Man also felt invisible to white people, albeit they were American rather than Dutch.  In this way one can see that the invisibility of black people is universal and is therefore an important matter.  By increasing people’s awareness of this issue, the invisibility is sure to decrease.  For this reason, I am affected by this topic of invisibility because I must be aware of making others feel invisible, in addition to making sure that I do not become invisible to others as well.

Article:

http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1202-DEC_SEDARIS?click=main_sr

Related:

http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/holland.shtml

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,594674,00.html

Photo: 2011. Photograph. MW3 Forum. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://www.mw3forum.com/showthread.php?t=48490&page=3>.