{"id":3824,"date":"2015-12-28T07:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T07:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=3824"},"modified":"2015-12-29T07:33:35","modified_gmt":"2015-12-29T07:33:35","slug":"5-things-you-didnt-know-about-nye-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-nye-in-the-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things You Didn’t Know About NYE In The Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know the Netherlands, we all know New Year’s Eve. But what happens in the Netherlands on the 31st of December, and in the night that follows? Do you know? Here are the 5 things you should know about NYE in the Netherlands!<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Vuurwerk<\/em>. Everywhere!<\/h2>\n

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The most popular and striking feature of NYE in the Netherlands is all the\u00a0vuurwerk\u00a0<\/em>(fireworks). It is normal in many countries to use fireworks at New Year’s Eve, but I don’t know another people\u00a0that is as into it as much as the Dutch. I live on the border in Germany, and every year when the\u00a0vuurwerkverkoop\u00a0<\/em>(fireworks sale) begins, you can find the\u00a0Dutch\u00a0gele nummerborden<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(yellow car plates)\u00a0everywhere here in Germany, all looking for the best and cheapest deals on\u00a0vuurwerk<\/em>. \u00a0Last year, 70 million euros were spent on fireworks for NYE! Most popular among these\u00a0are\u00a0rotjes<\/em>\u00a0(firecrackers) and\u00a0vuurpijlen\u00a0<\/em>(skyrockets).<\/p>\n

Of course, it also has its dangers<\/a>, and therefore, more and more Dutch municipalities decide to ban fireworks in so-called\u00a0vuurwerkvrijze zones\u00a0<\/em>(fireworks free zones), which are especially established around sensitive areas like schools and nursing homes. They\u00a0have municipal fireworks instead. This year, the number has climbed to at least 56 municipalities\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n

2. Oudejaarsavond<\/h2>\n
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St. Silvester (Image by Marie-Lan Nguyen at Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 2.5)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the Netherlands, New Year’s Eve is normally called oudejaarsavond, <\/em>and together with January 1\u00a0oud en nieuw.<\/em>\u00a0Sometimes, though only rarely, it is called\u00a0Silvester<\/em>, after\u00a0<\/em>saint\u00a0Silvester. The Catholic church proclaimed\u00a0December 31 as the feast day of this saint and former pope, as he\u00a0died on December 31, 335 AD. After many failures to implement a religious meaning around NYE, this one stuck. And now, for example in Germany,\u00a0NYE is mostly called\u00a0Silvester<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A reason why this did not stick as much in the Netherlands might be the protestant majority of the population, that was historically very reluctant to follow the Roman Catholic church. Another reason I could imagine could be the pronunciation of Silvester<\/em>, which is not the most natural in Dutch.\u00a0And to this day,\u00a0oudejaarsavond\u00a0<\/em>stayed.<\/p>\n

3. Oliebollen en Appelflappen<\/h2>\n
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Oliebollen en Appelflappen<\/em> (Image by Maarten at Flickr.com under CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Oliebollen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Appelflappen<\/a>\u00a0are the traditional Dutch fried foods for\u00a0oudejaarsavond<\/em>. They are sold all over the Netherlands the few days before NYE. You can find a\u00a0gebakkraam\u00a0<\/em>(a sort of\u00a0“cake stall”) in every village, and get some fresh\u00a0oliebollen\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0appelflappen<\/em>!<\/p>\n

I am not sure how to translate both of the words, but literally they mean\u00a0“oil balls” and “apple flap”. I came across a nice translation, the best possible, I think:\u00a0\"Dutch<\/a><\/p>\n

4. 3… 2… 1… Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n