Bye Santa! Popularity Drops: Search Trends 2015 [Infographic]
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 10:52 am
Listen, who's knocking, children? On November 14, the old man arrived in our country. The time of candy, Piet chaos, putting out shoes, surprises, poems and gingerbread nuts has arrived again. But while gingerbread nuts are already on the shelves in August, online interest in Sinterklaas only starts in October. What are the online trends surrounding the annual festival?
Popularity of Sinterklaas is no longer what it used to be
Worldwide we see a strong decline in the search term 'Sinterklaas'. The number of searches in 2014 consisted of only 34 percent of the number of searches in 2005. If we zoom in on the Netherlands we see the same declining trend, but it is less strong compared to the worldwide decline in searches for Sinterklaas. The number of searches in 2014 is still in stark contrast (60%) with 2005. Drenthe, Overijssel and Noord-Brabant search for Sinterklaas the most in Google. The cities where people search for the good saint the most are Naaldwijk, Roosendaal and Hoorn.
popularity-sinterklaas
Sinterklaas journal has passed its peak
The Sinterklaasjournaal also seems to have passed its peak. Despite the positive messages about the viewing figures of the TV program, the program has had to give up attention in nigeria telegram number list Google. In 2013 we saw a peak, but now the program is about 23 percent less popular online (November '13 compared to November '14). Funny enough, on YouTube we see an increase of 14 percent (November '13 compared to November '14).
Still excited about the arrival
On the other hand, we see that the Netherlands is still enthusiastic about the arrival. The search volume on Google for 'intocht Sinterklaas' was in October this year (with 9,000 searches) about 15 percent higher than in October '14 (7,800). According to Google, the arrival of Sinterklaas is most popular in North Holland with 24 percent of all searches within the Netherlands. Remarkable, since the official arrival this year took place in Meppel, Drenthe.
Black Pete debate less intense than in previous years
Black, with soot marks or another colour Piet: a real line cannot yet be discovered in the celebration of Sinterklaas this year in the Netherlands. Shopkeepers have not yet decided how to deal with Sinterklaas' servant this year. Online search behaviour shows that this year again a lot of searches are being made for terms around the Zwarte Pieten discussion. But for the first time in years the discussion appears to be less intense.
In October last year, the search term 'black pete' was entered into Google 112,400 times. This year, the counter is stuck at only 34,100 searches in October. That is a decrease of no less than 70 percent.
number-searches-sinterklaas
The discussion is still most alive in Gelderland
In the second half of the twentieth century, the discussion arose as to whether Black Pete can be linked to racism. Both the skin colour and the social position of Sinterklaas' servant were the reason for this. In 2013, the discussion reached its peak. The searches around this discussion peaked in November in particular. It is striking to see that search terms such as 'black Pete racism' and 'black Pete discussion' have decreased this year for the first time in years. The number of searches around the Black Pete discussion in October this year was 50 percent of the number in October 2014. From this decrease, we can conclude that the peak of the discussion about Black Pete is behind us.
The number of searches around the Zwarte Piet discussion this year (2,900 in October) shows that there are still people who are worried about Sinterklaas' servant. The topic is most prevalent in Gelderland, where the search volume this year is much higher than in the rest of the Netherlands. The down-to-earth northerners of the Netherlands are the least worried about the discussion around Zwarte Piet.
Popularity of Sinterklaas is no longer what it used to be
Worldwide we see a strong decline in the search term 'Sinterklaas'. The number of searches in 2014 consisted of only 34 percent of the number of searches in 2005. If we zoom in on the Netherlands we see the same declining trend, but it is less strong compared to the worldwide decline in searches for Sinterklaas. The number of searches in 2014 is still in stark contrast (60%) with 2005. Drenthe, Overijssel and Noord-Brabant search for Sinterklaas the most in Google. The cities where people search for the good saint the most are Naaldwijk, Roosendaal and Hoorn.
popularity-sinterklaas
Sinterklaas journal has passed its peak
The Sinterklaasjournaal also seems to have passed its peak. Despite the positive messages about the viewing figures of the TV program, the program has had to give up attention in nigeria telegram number list Google. In 2013 we saw a peak, but now the program is about 23 percent less popular online (November '13 compared to November '14). Funny enough, on YouTube we see an increase of 14 percent (November '13 compared to November '14).
Still excited about the arrival
On the other hand, we see that the Netherlands is still enthusiastic about the arrival. The search volume on Google for 'intocht Sinterklaas' was in October this year (with 9,000 searches) about 15 percent higher than in October '14 (7,800). According to Google, the arrival of Sinterklaas is most popular in North Holland with 24 percent of all searches within the Netherlands. Remarkable, since the official arrival this year took place in Meppel, Drenthe.
Black Pete debate less intense than in previous years
Black, with soot marks or another colour Piet: a real line cannot yet be discovered in the celebration of Sinterklaas this year in the Netherlands. Shopkeepers have not yet decided how to deal with Sinterklaas' servant this year. Online search behaviour shows that this year again a lot of searches are being made for terms around the Zwarte Pieten discussion. But for the first time in years the discussion appears to be less intense.
In October last year, the search term 'black pete' was entered into Google 112,400 times. This year, the counter is stuck at only 34,100 searches in October. That is a decrease of no less than 70 percent.
number-searches-sinterklaas
The discussion is still most alive in Gelderland
In the second half of the twentieth century, the discussion arose as to whether Black Pete can be linked to racism. Both the skin colour and the social position of Sinterklaas' servant were the reason for this. In 2013, the discussion reached its peak. The searches around this discussion peaked in November in particular. It is striking to see that search terms such as 'black Pete racism' and 'black Pete discussion' have decreased this year for the first time in years. The number of searches around the Black Pete discussion in October this year was 50 percent of the number in October 2014. From this decrease, we can conclude that the peak of the discussion about Black Pete is behind us.
The number of searches around the Zwarte Piet discussion this year (2,900 in October) shows that there are still people who are worried about Sinterklaas' servant. The topic is most prevalent in Gelderland, where the search volume this year is much higher than in the rest of the Netherlands. The down-to-earth northerners of the Netherlands are the least worried about the discussion around Zwarte Piet.