There are many traditions that the Dutch treasure and value and these are some of the popular traditions that the Dutch still withhold.
First, Carnival or Carnaval is held 40 days before Easter, during February/ March. The Carnival has been celebrated since medieval times and was modernized after world war II. During the Carnival, party goers will dress in costumes and parade the streets. Locals will be bizarrely caricatured in papier-mache figures and songs are sung poking fun, for example, at the local mayor. This festival is prominent particularly in Southern Netherlands, mostly in the Catholic provinces of Netherlands. It is customary to eat herring on Ash Wednesday, which traditionally marks the end of Carnival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNjomLaljk0&feature=related
Watch this video of the Carnaval parade in 2007
First, Carnival or Carnaval is held 40 days before Easter, during February/ March. The Carnival has been celebrated since medieval times and was modernized after world war II. During the Carnival, party goers will dress in costumes and parade the streets. Locals will be bizarrely caricatured in papier-mache figures and songs are sung poking fun, for example, at the local mayor. This festival is prominent particularly in Southern Netherlands, mostly in the Catholic provinces of Netherlands. It is customary to eat herring on Ash Wednesday, which traditionally marks the end of Carnival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNjomLaljk0&feature=related
Watch this video of the Carnaval parade in 2007
Another traditional feast of the Netherlands is Queen's day or "Koninginnedag". This is celebrated in honour of the Queen's birthday. However, this day 30th of April is not the birthday of Queen Beatrix, the current Queen of Netherlands. The celebration is to celebrate the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana.
The Queen decided to keep this date, because her own birthday (January, the 31th) is in the winter. It is a national holiday on April 30th and the entire country wears orange. Events and celebrations are held throughout the country with drinking, flea market activities, music and dance.
The Royal family will also visit one or two towns each year.
Queen Beatrix waving to the crowd in Makkum
Princess Maxima
One traditional festivity the Netherlands is the feast of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklass. It is celebrated on the evening before Sinterklaas' birthday on December 5, especially in families with little children. Sinterklass is the basis of the mythical Snata Claus in the United States.
Traditionally, in the weeks between Sinterklass arrival and 5 December, before going to bed, children put their shoes next to the fireplace chimney of the coal-fired stove or fireplace. In modern times, they may put them next to the central heating unit. They leave the shoe with a carrot or some hay in it and a bowl of water nearby "for Sinterklaas' horse", and the children sing a Sinterklaas song. The next day they will find some candy or a small present in their shoes. Of course Sinterklass does not exist but children are excited about this tradition and parents are the ones who leave candies and present in their shoes.
Sinterklass and his Black Peters.
Sinterklaas isnt just for small children but for grown-ups and older children as well. It is a day of giving and receiving gifts, much like on Christmas, but now the presents are like a surprise. It is a gift hidden within a product of tinkering, aimed at giving the gift the appearance of something completely different, accompanied by a funny poem. It serves to embarrass the addressee by reminding him or her of some embarrassing moments in the past year, or to point out a general failure of character in a mocking way. It is a day to get even with anybody for anything, but it is mostly played with family or friends.
Remembrance day is another tradition as well. Every year at 8pm on the 4th of May, there will be two minutes of silence throughout the country to commemorate those who died during the WW II. The fallen from WW II are honoured in an Amsterdam ceremony with a commemorative service held at the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam with speeches and the laying of wreaths.
Liberation day is celebrated the day after Remembrance day on the 5th of May. However, it is celebrated on a grand scale every five years with Festivals and celebrations. Liberation day is to mark the end of the occupation by the Nazis during World War II.
New year in the Netherlands is very exciting and interesting as their New Year traditions has been brought down by Dutch settlers and preserved and cherished till today. The age-old tradition to visit friends and families on New Year's Day. Mothers and sisters prepare delectable dishes with the best silver and china at tables.
Unique among the various New Year Traditions in Netherlands is the New Year's Swim on New Year's Day. At noon thousands of people dive into the freezing cold North Sea. The largest dive is held at the beach of Scheveningen, where 10.000 people plunge into the sea. This tradition is observed not only for fun and recreation but also to ensure good luck and health on the ensuing days of the New Year.
In the Netherlands, people burn Christmas trees on street bonfires and ignite colorful fireworks to herald in the New Year. This practice is also considered to be a means of driving away the bad spirits of the old year. There goes a belief that anything in the shape of a ring symbolizes good luck, since it indicates completion of the cycle of a year. That is why there is a custom to have donuts on New Year's Day to usher in good luck and cheer.
Books used:
Bedford N & Sellars S. (2007) Lonely Planet. The Netherlands.
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