On Queen’s Day everybody celebrates and dresses in orange, the colour that unites the Dutch.
In 2009 an inquiry was held in order to find out the most important traditions in the Netherlands. This was done
Intangible heritage in the Netherlands
as a preparation for the ratification of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. E verybody could send his or her intangible heritage. The hundred traditions that had been named most often were announced by Queen Beatrix. The result of this inquiry clearly shows that we’re living in a changing society. Old traditions are juxtaposed with new ones. Also a lot of traditions of so called newcomers were mentioned. This exhibition gives a little peek into the intangible heritage of the Netherlands.
The UNESCO
Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage concerns the kingdom as a whole. Carnival is celebrated both in the European part and in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands.
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Living with water The Netherlands are a delta. The Dutch culture has been thoroughly influenced by the water. A large part of the Netherlands lies below the sea-level. Without dikes more than half of the land would be sea or river. In a country with so much water boats are often used as a way of transportation. Another way of transportation is to leap over the water. In the Netherlands it is done with a leaping-pole. Once started as a necessity now it has developed into a sport. The aim of far leaping with a leaping-pole or fierljeppen is leaping over a ditch with the aid of a long pole. After a short run the sportsman jumps The Netherlands have many traditions that are related
into the pole that’s standing upright and he
to water, like fierljeppen, a sport that attracts a lot
starts climbing as fast as he can. Then he
of spectators.
swishes to the other side of the ditch. The first known competition was held in 1767 in Frisia. Nowadays there are official associations which organize national championships in several parts of the Netherlands.
Countless are the competitions with boats, like the ‘pieperrace’ in Volendam and the ‘skûtsjesilen’ in Frisia.
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As soon as the temperature drops below zero, the skating fever rises in the Netherlands.
Ice-skating In wintertime when streams and ponds are frozen over, one can skate on the ice. The long, cold winters have provided the Netherlands with many typical winter traditions. Customs that take place on the ice are abundantly available. As soon as the t emperature drops below zero, many skating contests, for short and long distances, skating marathons and recreational skating tours are being organized. While skating one can relax at the ‘koek- and zopiekramen’, booths with warm food and beverages for sale. Besides skating tours the wealthy middle class started to p ractice elegant skating, in the nineteenth century. This is called ‘schoonrijden’, in which pairs of two people glide over the ice. P eople still practice schoonrijden. The oldest skates were made of animal bones, later thick iron was used. This was done already in the thirteenth century. Skating on these skates was not as fast as nowadays on the ‘klapschaats’ (clap skate), a Dutch invention by the way.
Connected to skating on natural ice are ‘Koek and Zopie’ booths, where warm drinks and cakes are sold.
‘Schoonrijden’ is an elegant way of skating, in which people glide over the ice.
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Every year the Dutch people are wishing for an Elfstedentocht.
Elfstedentocht
This is a skating tour of almost
The Elfstedentocht is a tough tour for the skaters,
tour for go-getters only.
particularly in very cold weather.
An Elfstedentocht cannot
200 km distance that passes all of the eleven F risian cities. It is a
be organized very often, but whenever it happens, everyone in the N etherlands goes crazy. Everyone sits in front of the television to watch the s katers and along the route the public encourages the skaters. There is a really cozy atmosphere, with music and pea soup. A skating tour by young Frisian men that passed eleven cities is The Elfstedentocht is a long distance skating tour
already mentioned in historical
that passes all eleven cities of Frisia.
sources of 1785. But on January 2 1909 the first
Many music groups contribute to a cozy atmosphere.
official Elfstedentocht was held. 23 skaters participated. They rode on wooden Frisian safety speed-skates. Unfortunately favourable ice conditions are not known to the Netherlands every year, not even when there is a harsh winter. The Elfstedentocht was held only fifteen times since 1909, the last time on January 4 1997.
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Fishing
On Flag-day the boats take off for the first time after a long winter.
The knowledge of old fishing techniques and crafts is diminishing fast. There are for instance only a few people left who practice the old ways of shrimp-fishing.
Fishing always has been an important means of making a living for many Dutch p eople. Many towns had ports and every port had its Flag-day or ‘Buisjedag’ in s pringtime. That was the day when the boats were put to sea for the first time after the winter. Everything was tested and the boats were decorated with flags. Crowds came to watch the fishing fleet. The oldest known Flag-day dates back to 1781. That was the year when Stadhouder William V was present and received the first cask of herring. That tradition had been honored for a long time. These days Flag-day is still celebrated in some ports. A lot of the knowledge about old fishery techniques and crafts is diminishing fast. There are for instance only a few people left that practice ‘weervisserij’, anchovy fishing with a fish trap. There are also less and less people who know how to fabricate nets.
A fisherman from Urk is repairing his nets.
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Religion Religion used to play an important role in everyday life and it still does for many people. The Netherlands used to be predominately Roman-Catholic and there still are many celebrations for saints. During the sixteenth century The Boxmeerse Vaart is a Holy Blood procession
there was a schism in western
that dates back to the fifteenth century.
Christianity: the Netherlands became Protestant and rose in rebellion against their Catholic sovereign lord from Spain.
Muslim people in the Netherlands practice the Ramadan and celebrate the
When the Netherlands turned into a republic in 1648, the Roman-Catholic feasts were banned from public life. It took until the eighteenth and
Suikerfeest
nineteenth centuries before
(Eid al-Fitr).
freedom of religion slowly returned. In the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century many f oreign labourers or ‘gastarbeiders’ from Turkey and Morocco came to the Netherlands to find work. Later, these men fetched their families to live with them in the Netherlands. Almost all of these people were of the Islamic religion. Mosques were built in the big cities to practice their religion.
St. Martin’s Day in Utrecht has its roots in the Middle Ages. Every year there is an extensive light parade.
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An average Dutchman eats at least four different kinds of stamppot regularly.
Winter dishes In the Netherlands the winters used to be long and cold, much colder than nowadays. Therefore it was of the utmost importance to store enough food for the whole winter. A dish that is still eaten is stamppot or
Thick pea-soup or
husselpot as it used to be called. In a large pan
snert is mentioned in
potatoes or grain, vegetables and some meat are
one of the oldest
boiled and stirred or mashed. There are more than sixteen different kinds of
recipe-books, without
stamppot. One of those has made history. After the siege of Leiden in the
sausage though.
Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) the starving inhabitants found a half empty kettle filled with hotchpotch, a type of stamppot. Nowadays people in Leiden still eat hotchpotch at the commemoration of that liberation. A liquid form of hotchpotch is pea-soup or ‘snert’. Nowadays most people eat ‘snert’ when it’s cold outside, with rye-bread and bacon. Consuming a
Deep-fried dough
cup of pea soup is also popular during skating tours. On New Year’s Eve
balls are a traditional
many deep-fried dough balls are eaten. It’s a tradition that has originated
dish on New Year´s Eve
from the custom that poor people used to go around to receive food in the
that is usually sold at a
midwinter period. Fat deep-fried dough balls fill the stomach so one can
booth on the street.
endure the cold better. The recipe for deep-fried dough balls can already be found in the oldest known recipe-book.
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Raw herring is a fish that is eaten very often in the Netherlands. In the period of the New Herring celebrations are held everywhere.
Icons of the Netherlands
Many foreigners know the image of a Dutchman eating a herring, holding it up by the tail: ‘haring happen.’ This image has only emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. Herring has been eaten for ages, but cut into pieces on a plate. ‘Haring kaken’, the curing of the herring was invented in the fourteenth century to preserve herring for a long time. The tastiest herring, the ‘Hollandse nieuwe’ (‘Dutch New’), is caught from the middle of May to July. An abusive word for Dutch people is ‘kaaskop’ (cheese head). Not very flattering, but it does say something about
Dutch people have been eating cheese
his eating habits. Already in the Roman era Caesar noticed
since ages. In various places cheese is
that cheese was being made in the Netherlands. During that
being sold in a traditional way with
period it was not yet the hard, yellow cheese we know now.
yellow cheeses on litters that are carried
The procedure to make this type of cheese was not
by cheese-bearers dressed in white suits
invented until the twelfth century. Already in the e ighteenth
who manoeuvre skillfully.
century the Dutch liked to eat a cheese sandwich. At the Waag (Weigh-house), at the Cheese Market in Alkmaar, c heeses have been weighed and sold for more than four centuries. In earlier days the cheese makers came there to offer their batches, to have them inspected and weighed. The flat yellow cheeses are still put on litters which were carried to the Waag by cheese-bearers in white suits and straw hats.
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Keti Koti By the end of the sixteenth century trade became an important source of prosperity in the Netherlands, particularly in Amsterdam. Especially the trade to areas overseas was very profitable. In 1602 the VOC (United East-Indian Company) was founded, focusing on the trade with the Far East, the f ormer Dutch East Indies in particular. A few years later the WIC (West-Indian Company) followed for the trade with North and South America. Keti Koti, the festival that commemorates the
Initially trade was the main activity, but soon plantations
abolishment of slavery , is
were built to grow and sell tropical products. This is
abundantly celebrated by
connected with a black page in the history of the
Dutch people with Surinam
Netherlands. In order to get cheap labourers for the
roots.
plantations, the Dutch started to trade slaves, like other European countries. Hundreds of thousands were transported from A frica to America. In 1863 the Dutch government abolished slavery. This moment is celebrated on July 1 during the National Commemoration of the Abolishment of Slavery. Groups of Afro-Surinam, Dutch and Antillian origin celebrate Keti Koti, the breaking of the chains. Keti Koti is a colourful festival, with mourning on the one hand, because of the suffering of
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Surinam people that celebrate
the forefathers, and on the other hand the celebration of
are dressed in traditional clothes.
the present freedom and equality and the connectedness
A lot of music is made.
toward a mutual future.
Chinese people have introduced many eastern dishes in the Netherlands. The Chinese New Year – Chun Jie – with the parade and the firework display is very famous.
Cultural diversity During the last half of the century many people from other countries came to live in the Netherlands. Every culture brought its own traditions and celebrations. Because people are interchanging customs a rich diversity in traditions has developed. Many people celebrate the Ramadan festival nowadays, participate in Holi Pagwa or watch the Chinese Dragon festival.
Because of Islam culture everbody in the Netherlands knows Ramadan or the month of fasting. In this period Muslims are allowed to eat only after sunset. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with the neighbours and family.
From Hindu culture the celebration of the New Year – Holi Pagwa – is known. The victory of the good over evil is celebrated, among other things by scattering coloured powder.
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