Santa Claus, a Colonial Tradition - Tune in Sunday
UhuruRadio | 26.12.2008 18:09 | Anti-racism | Culture | Social Struggles
Here's an excerpt from the pre-recorded interview...
"The truth is that virtually every celebration done in this country and throughout Europe, certainly since the 15th or 16th century, have been celebrations of slavery and genocide.
"The reality is that there are no innocent holidays. Just like Thanksgiving, Christmas itself has its origin in something that's not necessarily good for Africans and other oppressed people. When I say Christmas, what I'm really talking about is not so much the mythology of the son of God being born, as much as Christmas that's generally celebrated having to do with gift-giving and sharing and the emergence of this fantastic character known as Santa Claus.
"Santa Claus was born of the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. Sinterklaas was the patron saint of shipping in Holland. The first African captives to come to America were brought by the Dutch. I would imagine that the 'Good Ship Jesus' that brought us here was probably blessed by Sinterklaas. You could say that we were a gift from Santa to America."
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