Transcript of Traditions of holland and the tulips
- 1. Traditions from Holland
- 2.
- The Dutch culture is one of the few cultures with many
contradictions. The Dutch want to be modern and progressive, but
also wish to preserve their standards and values.
- 3. Queen's Day
- On April 30th, the Dutch celebrate Koninginnedag ("Queen's
Day"), a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of the
country's (former) Queen. It is by far the most widely celebrated
holiday in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is packed to the gills on
April 30th, welcoming up to two million party-going visitors.
- 4. Dutch games On that day you will find festivities all over
the country. Many towns and villages have traditional feasts with
lots of old fashioned games, like 3 leg races, 'koek happen', and
more things like that.
- 5. Music festivals And in the afternoon and evening, and
sometimes the evening before, there are big musical festivals.
Bands playing on stages on the village square or one of the many
town squares, with beer stalls doing good business. And many people
will dress up in orange, the national colour.
- 6. Fallen in war day 4th May is the remembrance of all people
fallen in war, (used to be for the people fallen in WWII) which is
a solemn ceremony with a 2 minutes silence all over the country.
(This is a normal working day, sometimes stopping a little
early)
- 7. Saint Nicholas Our 'Christmas presents' we get from
Sinterklaas, (saint Nicolas) on 5th December, the eve of his day on
the calendar. He will come with his black helper, Piet, and visit
most children in their school or at home (or both) on that day.
This is a normal working day for all, and mostly a celebration for
the children, although many adults also exchange presents, often in
a funny or joking way.
- 8. Christmas Christmas is more a solem celebration, but some
people exchange presents then in the American way, with father
Christmas and so on. Most families get together for a dinner on
Christmas day or the next day, known as first and second Christmas
day.
- 9. New Year!! New years eve is a big celebration, and at
midnight everybody who wants can send fireworks into the sky, which
many people do. New years day is a day to get together with the
family again, or visit the parents in law, so most people divide
those visits between Christmas and New Year, so they do not have to
spend all the time with the relatives.
- 10. Tulips
- The tulip has come to be a loved symbol of the
Netherlands.
- 11. The season begins in March with crocuses, followed by the
daffodil and the yellow narcissi. In April the hyacinths and tulips
blosssom to some time in mid May, depending on the weather.