The Netherlands domestic life and special occasions
DOMESTIC LIFE The spotless Dutch
kitchen, boasting shiny rows of plates in the cupboards and a collection
of spoons hung in a spoon rack, which was always so much a part of pioneer
Dutch kitchens, is often still found today. Many Dutch have a fondness for
delftware — earthenware dishes glazed in white and blue — as well as for
copper utensils and accessories. North American home-styles are very much
a part of Dutch life too, but the tradition of gathering around the
kitchen table for good food and talk persists. A part of the Dutch home that is shown with pride is the food cellar.
Rows of home-canned fruits, vegetables, pickles, pickled meats,
headcheeses, and bins of root vegetables are very much a part of
home-making skills. Modem homes make full use of freezers and
refrigerators, but the traditional pride in home preserving remains. SPECIAL OCCASIONS More than two-thirds of the Dutch population belong to Protestant sects
and the majority of these are members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Of the
remainder, some 27 percent are Roman Catholics and about 5 percent are
Jews. Easter is celebrated with daffodils and tulips, honingkoek (honeycake)
and krentenbollen (currant buns), while Christmas is quietly celebrated by
going to church with family. New Year's Eve calls for happy family parties
with appel beignets (fried apple fritters), oliebollen (deep-fried yeast
doughnuts), and appelbollen (apples baked in puff pastry). The happiest and most important celebration of the year is,
surprisingly, neither religious nor patriotic, and is celebrated by
everyone regardless of age or religion. This is the delightful festival of
St. Nicholas, "a fixture of Dutch culture since the Middle Ages," and the
patron saint of Amsterdam. Although no one seems to know why, as early as
mid-November, Sinterklaas, dressed in bishop's robes and a long beard,
arrives by boat from Spain, accompanied by his black helper Swarte Piet
(Black Pete) and his white horse. Together they make the rounds of towns
and villages, providing toys for good children and reprimands for naughty
ones. For many children, Sinterklaas, with his book of records about
children, is scary. Yet, hopeful that they will receive toys, children
eagerly prepare for the arrival of Sinterklaas and Swarte Piet by placing
one of their shoes, filled with hay, carrots, or cookies for the horse, in
front of the fireplace. For them, Sinterklaas and Piet may arrive by
horse, barge, car, or even a bicycle. However, adults enjoy the festival
with gifts accompanied by rhyming verses, treasure hunts, and practical
jokes. Traditionally, a large solid chocolate letter (boterleiter) for
each person's name marks their place at the festive table. Also enjoyed
are marzipan and fondant candies, and other special cookies, rich with
honey and fragrant with nuts and spices, are called speculaas and
taai-taai. Recently in the Netherlands, the rotund jolly Santa Claus, together
with North American holiday jingles, have been encroaching on the
Sinterklaas tradition. For those Dutch who retain Christmas as a calmly
beautiful religious festival, such commercialization is profanity.