The traditions of the Dutch: New Years Eve edition
Every country has its own traditions and Holland is no exception. This time, the Dutch traditions around New Years Eve are discussed. January first marks the start of the New Year and the Dutch often see this turn of the year as a perfect opportunity for a fresh start in the New Year. The often make lists of new years resolutions. It may seem like quite the conventional western traditions, but make no mistake; the Dutch have some remarkable traditions that are unique to them. Read them below.
Oliebollen
It might be the case that you have no clue what an oliebol is, so let’s start with that. An oliebol, or literally translated an oil ball, is a Dutch food that consist out of deep fried dough balls. The Dutch usually eat them with powdered sugar on them. If you like raisins, you can try the version with raisins in them. The Dutch eat these oil balls around the time of Christmas and New Years, but traditionally they are consumed on New Years Eve. You can get one at the traditional stands in around local shopping areas; the stands are called ‘Oliebollenkraam’.
Oudejaarslot
Again, we will need to translate this before we explain the tradition. An ‘oudejaarslot’ is a lottery ticket for a special Dutch lottery on New Years Eve. Generally, most Dutch people will buy a ticket and see if they entered the new year being an multimillionaire. The jackpot of the lottery is also the highest of the year on that day – so people get quite excited!
Fireworks
In the days before New Years Eve, you might hear a lot of loud blows. Don’t be afraid, it’s most likely kids setting off fireworks. We can hear you think: kids & fireworks? And we get it. Traditionally, setting off fireworks is allowed in The Netherlands the three days before January first. You can buy any sort of fireworks from special shops that open in December. While it might be very exciting to see all the fireworks, please remember to be safe and use protection when you set off fireworks.
Cars on fire
Never seen a car be set on fire? Well, you just might see that in the Netherlands, especially in the more southern of eastern parts of the country. In those regions, it is ‘tradition’ to set a car on fire. You might also come to see that the local phone booth was set on fire of the local mailbox was bombed. It does not seem very logical, but hey, it’s tradition.
Burning Christmas trees
By now you might think that the Dutch just enjoy setting random things on fire, so we will add fuel to that. Another tradition is to stack the Christmas trees in the neighborhood and set them on fire, thus creating a giant bonfire. Just remember to stock up on marshmallows!
A new years dive
Finally, a tradition that does not include setting random things on fire: the new years dive. This tradition dates back multiple centuries and basically implies that Dutch people wake up on January first, go to the beach, dive in the (freezing cold) sea and then start the New Year in an extremely fresh way. This tradition also includes eating a Unox hotdog sandwich and beer.
