The whole of the Netherlands celebrates Sinterklaas in December, except for one village in Friesland. December 5 is a normal day there and they only walk to the Quay to catch up with Santa in February. That is Sint Piter, who arrives by boat together with Swarte Pyt. Sint Piterdei, Saint Piter’s Day, is on February 21. That would be Saint Nicholas’ birthday, but there are also other explanations for the festive day. How exactly does it work? The mystery surrounding the party is part of the charm. In any case, Grou celebrates Sint Piterdei exuberantly, including arrival and goodbye, presents, pleasant afternoons and the Sint Piter Fairy Tale.
The brother of Sinterklaas, who comes in February
- Saint Piter and Swarte Pyt
- Who is Saint Piter
- Why Sint Piter in Grou
- Sint Pitersdei
- Reception on the Quay
- Utswaaie of Sint Piter
- Where does the Saint Piter festival come from?
- Necklaces and gingerbread nuts
- Time does not stand still in Grou
- Saint Piter songs
- The difference with Sinterklaas
- Grou
- KOSP
- Police
Saint Piter and Swarte Pyt
In Grou, a village near Leeuwarden, Saint Piter is celebrated in February. The village skips Sinterklaas in December and brings in a bishop who looks a lot like Sinterklaas in February. Sint Piter is accompanied by one buddy called Swarte Pyt who speaks Frisian, just like Sint Piter himself.
Who is Saint Piter
Saint Piter or Saint Peter is the patron saint of fishermen and sailors. His birthday is on February 21, his name day is February 22 and then is also the anniversary. Grou is a water sports and fishing village with the reformed 12th century St. Piter Church in the middle. According to one of the stories about Saint Piter, he is said to be the brother of Saint Nicholas. The two allegedly got into a fight between Grou and Jirnsum because the gifts for Grou were left behind in Spain, forgotten! Piter decided to go back to pick up the bags, but he was back well after December 5. It was February 21 that Piter arrived with the presents and since then it has been the official Sint Piterdei, Saint Piter’s Day.
Why Sint Piter in Grou
It is not clear how exactly the Saint Piter festival originated in the village. Is Saint Peter celebrated because the church is in the village or is it the other way around and the church is in the village because the villagers embraced Saint Peter as their patron saint. Grou was difficult to reach until 1759 and that may have been the reason that Sinterklaas did not come to the village. And then there is the argument between the two Saints that explains why Grou celebrates the gift festival in February.
Sint Pitersdei
Grou celebrates Sint Pietersdei on the Saturday before February 21. Due to circumstances, spring holidays for example, the good saint sometimes wants to appear a week earlier. He has been coming to Grou since the mid-seventeenth century. It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that this was celebrated with a public parade. It was kindergarten teacher Riek Jansen who invited Santa to come to school. Only then did Saint Piter appear in public on the street, just like Sinterklaas. Since 1908 he has appeared on horseback and a tour of the village has been held. Until 1970, Sint Piter mainly attended kindergartens. Sint Piter was mainly a nursery and home celebration.
Chimney sweep Hoantsje Pik
Only after the Second World War was the party further decorated with the fairy tale, activities at school and in the village. Then the figure of Swarte Pyt also appears. Sint Piter only has one Swarte Pyt, but that is not surprising. Sinterklaas also once had only one Pieterbaas. Swarte Pyt can be found in history as Hansje Pik, a chimney sweep. In Frisian this is called a Hoantsje Pik .
Reception on the Quay
Saint Peter arrives at the Quay in Grou and that day the flag hangs on the tower in the old village. Various events were organized around the arrival. The children are standing on the quay waving and singing to Sint and Pyt. The official welcome speech is spoken at It Grien. Saint Piter always gives a speech. In 2020, Saint Nicholas will speak the words: ,It festival libbet yn Gou, , Frisian for ‘The party lives in Grou’. Saint Piter’s journey through Grou ends in Saint Piter’s Church.
Saint Piter on a black Frieze / Source: Erna Schuiteman, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Grou from above / Source: Milliped, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Sint Piterkerk / Source: Gouwenaar, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Saint Piter Mearke
The Sint Piter Mearke, the Sint Piter Fairy Tale, is performed annually. This has been the case since 1951. Since 1959, the fairy tales have been in Frisian.
Sint Piter 65+ Middei and Strûs-Yn
There is a Sint Piter 65+ Middei, a pleasant afternoon for Grousters and former Grousters aged 65 and older. The reunion of everyone who feels connected to Grou is called Strûs Yn .
Saint Pitersneon
Sint Pitersneon is a shopping Saturday in Grou, where Saint Nicholas shopping can be done. The village’s middle classes then organize games and other fun activities in the center. In the Sint Piter Church, for example, the bedroom of Saint Nicholas can be seen.
Sint Pitersbeurs
Sint Pitersbeurs is a fair that has existed since the Second World War and was initially organized by the Dutch Women’s Electricity Association. Everything is sold to cover the costs of organizing the play that was performed for the children. Later it became a scholarship from the women’s association. When the teachers performed a fairy tale every year, the proceeds from the Sint Piter grant were used to pay for the fairy tale. In 2020 there will be a Sint Pitersjop with merchandise for the first time . Special St. Peter’s wrapping paper, clothing, rompers and bags with logos and texts referring to St. Peter are items that can be purchased.
Listrinners
Money is needed to organize the Sint Piter festival. Donations are collected by Listrinners , volunteers who go door to door to collect money.
Saint Pitergenoat
Every year a fellow villager is put in the spotlight and named Saint Pitergenoat, an honorary title for someone who has committed himself to the festival.
Utswaaie of Sint Piter
On Saint Piter’s birthday, February 21 and also Christmas Eve, Sint and Pyt are waved goodbye again. The party ends where it started, on the Quay. Christmas Eve is on the eve of the feast day of Saint Peter.
Where does the Saint Piter festival come from?
In various European countries it was customary to celebrate the end of winter and to help the sun with festivities; the lengthening of the days was celebrated. Carnival contains a remnant of those customs: the early spring festival is a mixture of various pagan customs, Christian cult acts and worldly folk customs. The pagan custom of making noise appears in many of these festivals. The winter demons are chased away with the noise. Masks are often worn to chase evil spirits and winter back into the cage.
Fishermen
The festival in February also used to mark the time when fishermen could set sail again. Peter or Saint Piter, the patron saint of fishermen, will have been invoked. The departure of fishermen was celebrated and accompanied by parades and festivities.
February
A practical explanation of the celebration in February could be that the month of February fits better into the annual rhythm than a celebration in December. Saint Pitersdei is also experienced as a welcome to spring.
Necklaces and gingerbread nuts
In the 19th century the festival looked different than it does today. There was rattling of chains, banging on doors and throwing gingerbread nuts and syrup balls. It was mainly young people from wealthy citizens who visited the houses.
Time does not stand still in Grou
Time does not stand still in Grou either and in the 1970s there was considerable discussion about the future of the Sint Piter festival. New people came to live in the village with new insights. A Breed Sint Piterkomitee was set up to deal with the organization. Saint Piter kept coming to Grou.
Saint Piter songs
The Sint Peterfest has a whole collection of its own Frisian songs.
- Saint Peter’s Day, then the road turns green
- I know one day a year
- Saint Peter comes to Grou
- and-and twenty February
- Why is it in Grou?
- Saint Peter is coming
- The arrival
- We all know
- Black pit
- The basket on the tower
- Saint Peter’s Day
- It’s Saint Peter again
- Naughty Black Boy
- Say guys
- The most beautiful Saturday
- The basket on the tower
- Saint Peter sang
- The horse
- Black Pyt’s dance
- Saint Peter I am so happy
- Oant sjen Sint Piter
The difference with Sinterklaas
Saint Piter looks like Sinterklaas but is different. The differences lie in the time of year that the boss comes, the appearance of Saint Nicholas, the small or large scale of the event, the horse and the extent to which commerce plays a role in maintaining the festival.
|
Saint Peter |
Saint Nicholas |
|
February 21st |
5th of December |
|
white cloak |
red cloak |
|
black Frisian horse |
mold |
|
one Swarte Pyt |
several or many Petes |
|
serenaded in Frisian |
serenaded in Dutch |
|
speaks Frisian |
speaks Dutch |
|
hardly a commercial party |
commercial party |
|
celebration in Grou |
celebration throughout the Netherlands except in Grou |
Grou
Grou is located on the Pikmar and Wide Ie and is the first station on the Leeuwarden Heerenveen Zwolle railway line: Grou-Jirnsum station. A water called the Rjochte Grou, the Rechte Grou, runs through Grou, and Sint Piter and Swarte Pyt enter the village over that water.
KOSP
Just as the action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) advocates for a change in the figure of Black Pete during the Sinterklaas celebration, the Frisian variant, KOSP, Kick Out Swarte Pyt, does so during the Sint Piter festival. When Saint Piter arrived in Grou in 2019, a demonstration was held with signs: ‘Swarte Pyt = Rasism’ could be read. In February 2020, the protest group wants to protest again in Grou, but cancels this at the last minute. They were only allowed to demonstrate in a meadow and KOZP did not think that was a good place.
Police
The announced demonstration brought together more police officers than ever in 2020 to manage the party. A total of 22 police officers and 10 enforcers were present in Grou. A Safety Region command center had also been set up, but due to the cancellation of the KOZP demonstration, it remained unused.
Grou
Legend
A . Grou
B . Pikmar
C . Rjochte Grou
D . Sint Piterkerk
E . Kade
F . It Grien
read more
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