While winter in Minnesota is usually pretty calm and frozen, in the Netherlands the debate has been heating up around a controversial holiday character. Saint Nicholas Day, celebrated on the 6th of December, is arguably more important than Christmas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France. But, in recent years, there has been a great deal of controversy around saint Nicholas’ helper: Black Pete (Zwarte Piet in Flemish).

The results of a recent Breezes survey concluded that there is a broad range of interest in different December holidays — the three most common being Boxing Day (United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Nations), Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (celebrated in Mexico by Catholics), and Kwanzaa (celebrated amongst African Americans). Because knowledge about cultures other than one’s own is valuable, below are descriptions of the three least-known December holidays among MHS students.