Myrna Oostwal version 2

Holland, a country with a lot of special traditions

By Myrna Oostwal

We all know Holland, sometimes people call it The Netherlands. A small country in Europe that reminds everybody of the cows, the rain and the tulips but there is more. This country has a lot of traditions that every year come back. Sinterklaas, the Queens Day market and Sint Maarten. There is also some food that characterized Holland. At least there is one thing that outsiders never get, the three-kiss-tradition.

Special days

On the 30^th of April, the Dutch people celebrate the birthday of Queen Juliana. That is the mother of the current Queen, Queen Beatrix. Queen Beatrix decided to celebrate Queens Day still on the birthday of her mother and not her own birthday. On this day people are standing on the street with a stand with all different kind of stuff that they do not want anymore. You can think about toys from children that grown up or old furniture that is standing for years on an old dusty attic. I think it is a good way to sell your things that you do not need any longer. Other people can be happy with your stuff.

An remarkable tradition is Sint Maarten. Children sing in the evening of 11^th November songs at the front-door in their neighbourhood. When they are done, they can choose a candy bar from their neighbours.

The third tradition is Sinterklaas. On the 5^th of December, people celebrate the birthday of Sinterklaas. This is an old man who gives children presents. You can compare Sinterklaas with Santa Claus.

Kids love this man.

Food

In Holland are also a lot of food traditions. When a baby is born, people eat crisp bakes with pink or blue aniseed sprinkles.

Herring is a typical Dutch food. You love it or you hate it. People eat it with onions and gherkin. Most of the children do not like herring. I am eighteen years old and I still do not like them. Will I ever like this kind of fish?

In Holland eat people a lot of pancakes. In Dutch it is called ‘pannenkoeken’. This pancakes are thinner that the typical American pancake. People eat them very often, even for dinner occasionally. You roll them up and gobble them down.

Biscuits when a girl or boy is born.

Kiss kiss kiss

At least is there the three-kiss tradition. This is a typical Dutch tradition that sometimes brings some awkward situations. To enact this tradition, you give the other person a kiss on the right cheek, then the left cheek and finally once again on the right cheek. Especially it is a way to greet a friend or to say goodbye.

All these things are typical Dutch things and are important for the Dutch culture. In my opinion is it a good idea to maintain these things that I wrote in this article.

485 words

Word bank

Word	Meaning	Translation in Dutch
Attic	Upper floor in a one-family home	Zolder
Awkward	Uncomfortable	Gênant
Characterized	It is recognizable for someone or something	Herkenbaar
Compare	Look at things or people that have the same agreements	Vergelijken
Crisp bakes	Biscuits	Beschuit
Current	Actual	Huidige
Dusty	Dirty	Stoffig
Enact	Do something	Uitvoeren
Especially	Above all	Vooral
Furniture	Bank, chair	Meubels
Gherkin	Acid piece of food	Augurk
Gobble	Eat very fast when you are hungry	Schrokken
Herring	Fish from the North Sea	Haring
Maintain	To keep	In stand houden
Neighbourhood	Houses near your own house	Buurt, wijk
Neighbours	People who live near your own house	Buren
Occasionally	Sometimes	Af en toe
Onions	Food	Uien
Outsiders	People which do not live in Holland	Buitenlanders
Remarkable	Prominent	Opvallend
Sprinkles	Little pieces chocolate that you can eat on broad	Hagelslag
Stand	Shed	Kraampje
Thinner	Not thicker	Dunner
Three-kiss traditions	When you give someone three kisses on his or her cheek	Drie zoenen achter elkaar op de rechter en linker wang geven
Traditions	Events that came back everytime	Tradities

Sources

- HollandLife. (9 March 2006). The Dutch Way: drie. Used at 27th November 2011, of: http://hollandlife.blogspot.com/2009/05/dutch-way-drie.html

- Kitchen Butterfly. (z.j.). Top ten traditions, according to a recent survey by the NCV, the Dutch folk culture centre. Used at 27th November 2011, of: http://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/orange-county/dutch-traditions/