Christmas tradition of 'naughty' kids being kidnapped
This Indonesian tradition is said to have been influenced by Dutch culture.
The hype around Christmas comes with such excitement, but when it comes to the day, it all goes by so quickly.
Christmas is a time for tradition, and different cultures have different traditions. We found one tradition that truly surprised us.
Many parents use Santa's naughty and nice list to motivate their kids to behave throughout the year. Whether or not that works consistently, we cannot say for sure.
The particular tradition we refer to is from Indonesia and is said to have been influenced by Dutch culture.
"In Indonesia, particularly in areas influenced by Dutch culture, Christmas celebrations include figures like Sinterklas (Santa Claus) and Zwarte Piet (Black Piet). According to folklore, Zwarte Piet is traditionally portrayed as Santa’s helper who would take bad chillun (children) away in his sack." (Beach Grit)
This is not to say that the kids are taken away for real, but it is a scare tactic that parents agree to in order to teach their children about good behaviour.
Watch the video below - courtesy of Instagram.
Please note that this video may be disturbing to sensitive viewers.
According to the article in Beach Grit, the kids are rewarded with gifts and candy after the disturbing scene.
Some agreed with us in saying that this tradition is traumatic for kids, while others shared that they approve of this and that it should be imposed with all kids.
- "Unpopular opinion probably: this isn't trauma, this is teaching children that their actions can have more severe consequences than they thought. Because being taken away MIGHT be a real consequence of not doing the right thing. You play too far from home, you go off with strangers, you do drugs, you get into fights. All this will result in the child being taken away (by policemen, by gangs). It's a very common worry for parents, I remember being told a lot when I was younger "what if someone takes you away?!". This shows him, THIS is how you will feel in future if you break the law and the police come and take you away, this is how you will feel if you don't come home before dark and someone takes you away."
- "We need to normalize this everywhere."
- "In America you got The Grinch, In Indonesia we got this, in my town we call it “senterpit” (men covered in black) they come to your house. When kids behave bad, the parents will do this or will scare them that senterpit is coming. I was trying to be good every year ya’all. It was brutal."
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Image Courtesy of Instagram