In Ghent, Queen Nikkolah’s Sinterklaas party had to be moved to ‘a secret location’ after a storm of criticism. But for the children Guillaume and Scott, the foyer of the Handelsbeurs – the final location – is heaven on earth for a moment.
Lander Deweer6 december 2023, 18:18
While her grandson Guillaume learns to juggle plastic balls in the foyer of the Ghent Trade Fair, Sabrina holds her breath for a moment. “Oh, no,” she says. “That bodes well for my posture at home!”
On this Wednesday afternoon, the grandmother of five is one of the first attendees at the Queen Nikkolah party, the only Sinterklaas party where plainclothes officers mingle with playing children. Red, orange and pink balloons are scattered throughout the room; rainbow flags decorate the walls. There is no trace of a book with the names of all the naughty children or Petes with large burlap bags. On the contrary, a DJ plays R&B and hip-hop, while Queen Nikkolah – hair braided in a miter, gold piercing in the nose – waits for curious children in her plush armchair.
“I want to introduce my grandson to new things,” Sabrina adds. “At school his best friends are Turkish and my granddaughter, on the contrary, is bullied by so-called ‘real’ Belgians.”
Viernulvier has been celebrating this alternative at the Sinterklaas festival for years. Image Eric de Mildt
Steven is also present. He has brought Scott with him, who exchanges an old “stereotypical” Sinterklaas book for a new one and enthusiastically starts working on his children’s drawing. “I really wanted to come,” says Steven. “I don’t think it’s time to debate this so fiercely anymore. My mother was a first-generation migrant, from the Philippines, and as I got older I started to ask more and more questions about certain traditions, such as Zwarte Piet.”
This morning Scott celebrated a traditional Sinterklaas party at school. Steven is happy that there is also an alternative. “It’s nice to turn perspectives around and question our traditional images and ‘the norm’,” he says. “The diversity is only increasing, we better allow different traditions to coexist.”
Woke-rel
Queen Nikkolah was created in 2017 by Brussels activist, architect and artistic researcher Laura Nsengiyumva, who wants to bring people together through stories about decolonization. Queen Nikkolah had to become a more inclusive and feminine alternative to the time-honored Sinterklaas celebration.
The initiative grew every year, but with success also came criticism. When it recently emerged that the Ghent city council had invited Queen Nikkolah to city hall, the commotion erupted. The political right used the event for a new round of discussion about woke and ‘cancel culture’, threats flew back and forth on social media for days and mayor Mathias De Clercq (Open Vld) decided to move the party to “a secret location”.
The foyer of the Handelsbeurs. “A nice children’s party like this was always the intention,” says alderman of International Solidarity Hafsa El-Bazioui (Green). “I hear a lot of appreciation from parents and children, but it is of course a shame that we had to move it and all kinds of safety protocols suddenly have to be followed. Those were hallucinatory days.”
Only a fraction of the three hundred people who registered eventually showed up. The room is gradually filling up, but more than fifty children will not come to collect their gift – a bag of sidewalk chalk, crayons, mandarin oranges, gingerbread and chocolate.
Still, the Queen is satisfied. “I have never been asked about Queen Nikkolah as much as this year,” says Mahina Ngandu, the artist who plays for Queen today. She replaces Nsengiyumva, who has just become a mother. “Thanks to the riot, everyone knows us now. And above all: if I had had this myself as a child, I would have been overjoyed. I was really afraid of Saint Nicholas and Zwarte Piet.”
Christmas market
Queen Nikkolah parties are also being held in Leuven, Kessel-Lo, Anderlecht and the Ghent Viernulvier on this Wednesday afternoon. The turnout will turn out to be higher there.
But for children like Guillaume and Scott, the foyer of the Handelsbeurs is heaven on earth for a moment. “And the Christmas market will soon open again,” says Sabrina. “I will definitely take my little acrobat there too.”
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2023-12-06 17:18:25
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