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I was taught that Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) was black because of the soot. Wikipedia says it was because Santa was often depicted taming demons, and that evolved to show him 'taming' a black moor instead. The sources are mostly in Dutch. What is the true origin of Zwarte Piet?

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I was taught that Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) was black because of the soot. Wikipedia says it was because Santa was often depicted taming demons, and that evolved to show him 'taming' a black moor instead. The sources are mostly in Dutch. What is the true origin of Zwarte Piet?	690