Two Christian Democrat MPs have asked the home affairs and culture ministers for their opinion the removal of the Christian cross from Sinterklaas’s costume in Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Sinterklaas, or St Nicholas, traditionally wears a costume based on a bishop’s robes. But the MPs claim the cross has disappeared from the mitre used by the actor playing the official role in Amsterdam because of the ‘multi-ethnic population’ and the need to create a ‘universal figure’.
According to the Volkskrant, for years, the mitre worn by Sinterklaas in Amsterdam carries the city’s three cross symbol rather than the Christian cross.
The MPs Ad Koppejan and Jan Schinkeslhoek have asked the ministers to show their support for ‘typical Dutch celebrations such as Sinterklaas’.