Archive for 'Culture'
Elementary School 2.0! Posted by Sten on Jan 9, 2014
Helemaal in het Engels In the Netherlands, a bill is proposed to let schools teach 15% of their lessen (classes) in another taal (language). Helemaal (completely). Especially English is attractive for many schools, because it is used everywhere. It is on TV, in movies, on the internet, and basically all around the small state. It…
How the Dutch Cool Off After Those New Year Fireworks Posted by tiffany on Jan 3, 2014
What’s a Dutchie to do after a night of lighting up the sky with vuurwerken to ring in the New Year? Jump into the ocean, of course! On January 1, 2014 – just like every other year since 1960 (with the exception of 2007, when bad weather forced organizers to cancel) – the people of the…
Vuurwerk! – Dutch fireworks Posted by Sten on Dec 30, 2013
Generally, Dutch people are very fond of vuurwerk (fireworks). In the Netherlands, they love them around this time of the year. Back in the days, it was believed that the noise and flashes of fireworks would scare away the evil spirits that would bring misery in the new year. Nowadays, the only misery in the…
Patatdag – Dutch and Fried Food! Posted by Sten on Dec 13, 2013
Patatdag French fries, as the name says, are often seen as being from France. Now, it has been proven that they are actually from Belgium. Just go to Brussels once and try them there. Without ketchup or mayonnaise – only salt. That is how they are to be eaten. In the Netherlands, French fries are a…
A (Southern) Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet Posted by tiffany on Sep 23, 2013
In the post A Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet, we talked about some of the traditions behind Dutch names: where they came from, how they were registered, why there are male and female versions to a variety of Dutch names, and why some Dutch names are so darn long! Reader Irma…
A Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet Posted by tiffany on Aug 14, 2013
What’s in a name? When it comes to Dutch names, apparently quite a lot. Take first names, for instance. Seems the Dutch were firm believers in getting their money’s worth out of them. First names would survive in one family for generations. As it turns out, there was an intricate formula that kept them going…
Trees heeft een Candadees Posted by tiffany on Jun 19, 2013
The Netherlands was liberated in 1945. As you can imagine, after years of oppression, there was much dancing and partying and celebration. And it’s in these sorts of circumstances that boys meet girls. Young, foreign men in uniform swept Dutch girls off their feet and, often, back to Canada, America, or wherever else with them…