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DUTCH CUSTOMS Clogs & clichés
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About three weeks before the 5th of December,
'Sinterklaas' (Saint Nicholas) arrives in Holland on a
steamboat from Spain. He rides across our rooftops on a white
horse, accompanied by his helpers. The children fill their
shoes with hay and carrots for Sinterklaas' horse. By morning,
if the children have been good, the fodder has been replaced
with gifts |
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Cycling is as Dutch as the tulip. The Netherlands
has
16 million bicycles, outnumbering the population
by a million. A report from a country that worships cycling.
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Since the diamond trade was introduced to
Amsterdam in the 16th century, the city remains one of the
world's most important diamond centers. Many famous diamonds were
cut and polished in Amsterdam, like the
"Cullinan", the biggest diamond ever
found, and the "Koh-I-Noor" Mountain of
Light diamond which was cut for the British Crown
Jewels in 1852
http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/city/highlights/diamonds.html |
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Flowers appear everywhere and plants are sometimes
more common at windows than curtains
They can even
adorn
vehicles
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The National flag and a bag of school books hung outside
a window indicates that exams have been passed
and a party is
imminent |
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...and
this of course
means that the stork has visited and
the Dutch population has increased
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Finding a house decked with orange balloons and coloured
bunting can mean that a wedding anniversary is being
celebrated.
The Dutch manage to fit and extra one in and a twelve and
a half year anniversary can be reason enough for a good
party. |
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If
you really don't want to be kissed, you can stop off at stalls
where you will find the herring ready prepared to slide down
your throat?
The herring might have been prepared, but I
wasn't |
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