{"id":5288,"date":"2018-01-03T18:01:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T18:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5288"},"modified":"2018-01-03T18:01:46","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T18:01:46","slug":"4-new-years-traditions-from-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/4-new-years-traditions-from-the-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"4 New Year’s Traditions from the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2017-2018 New Year’s celebration was my first in the Netherlands, and at home, we made it a point to be as traditional as possible. It was a very nice experience and the following are 4 traditions I learned:<\/p>\n

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Photo taken by Rool Paap found on Flickr.com with license CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

1. “Alvast een fijne jaarwisseling” and “Gelukkig nieuwjaar”<\/h3>\n

These are the two phrases you need to learn for the end of December and the beginning of January. The first one is used before New Year’s and means something like “I already wish you a good change in year.” The second one is used after and is the equivalent of “Happy New Year.” You can also tell someone\u00a0de beste wensen voor 2018<\/em> once it is the new year.<\/p>\n

2. Gourmetten<\/h3>\n

One of the first culinary experiences I had in the Netherlands was\u00a0gourmetten.\u00a0<\/em>My in-laws planned a family dinner in which we all cooked our own food on the table. At first, I thought “someone got lazy with the cooking,” but I have come to appreciate the process of it. At the table, you put an electric pan where you cook small portions of meat\u00a0meat (vlees, kip, varkensvlees en vis).\u00a0<\/em>Underneath you have small trays where you can prepare other things like vegetables or toast bread and cheese. Because you are cooking the food while you eat, it is a longer dinner with great company.<\/p>\n

The following video gives you some useful tips for\u00a0gourmetten.<\/em><\/p>\n