Dutch Culture

Languages

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch. The secondary language of the Netherlands is Friesian, which is spoken in the Dutch province of Friesland.

Religion

About half of the population does not believe in any religion. The Dutch population has 25% Roman Catholics, 15% Protestants and 5% Muslims.

Culinary

Traditional Dutch cuisine is not very diverse. 

Breakfast: Breakfast consists of a slice of bread with various toppings like cheese, peanut butter, treacle, and chocolate spread.

Lunch: It include sandwiches with different cold cuts and cheeses – Gouda, Edam, and Leyden. Sometimes lunch can be same as breakfast.

Dinner: Dinners consist of soup, potatoes with a large portion of vegetables and a small portion of meat and pastries or cookies for dessert. Stamppot is a traditional winter meal and snert (pea soup) is often times the soup of choice for dinner.

Meal Times: Breakfast is served first thing in the morning between 6 and 8 A.M. Lunch is typically served 12 and 1 P.M. And dinner usually starts around 6 P.M. (early by international standards.)

Salted herring is another staple to the Dutch. Other staples include hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), stroopwafel (caramel waffle cookies), French fries and mayonnaise, and pffertjes (small, thick pancakes).

Note: All Au pairs do not stay with Dutch host family. So culinary can be different at your host family. 

Dining Etiquette

To make a toast, Dutch people say “proost” while making eye contact with each person they’re toasting. When it’s time to eat, people typically say “Eet smakelijk” meaning “Enjoy your meal.”

It is considered rude to leave the table during dinner for any reason, whether it is to take a phone call, use the bathroom, etc.

Greetings 

The Dutch either shake hands upon greeting and departing or if they have a close friends, they kiss the cheek three times, starting with the left cheek.

Greeting people is considered polite. For instance, when you walk into a waiting room at the doctor’s office, you are expected to say “hallo” to others even though you dont know them. When leaving, you can wish people “fijne dag” (have a nice day).

Scheduling 

For Dutch people punctuality is very important, so make sure you arrive at appointments on time. Dutch people tend to schedule plans many weeks in advance. So don't show up in someones home unannounced.

Manners

The Dutch communication style is open and straightforward. They speak their minds. Some foreigners or Au pairs may interpret this directness as being rude. 

The Dutch maintain strong eye contact when conversing with others.

Sports

Sports are a very important part of life for many Dutch citizens. There are currently over 35,000 sports clubs in the Netherlands.

Football: Dutch have achieved several milestones in football including three times at FIFA World Cup finals. Johan Crujiff is the country’s most popular football player

Speep Skating: Dutch is the undisputed king of speed skating. It is common for Dutch children in North to learn how to skate at an early age.

Art

The Netherlands is world-renowned for its number of art and historical museums. The most prolific period for Dutch art was the Golden Age (17th century), when they had Baroque style, inherited from the Italians. It became the basis for several Dutch masterpieces. The next resurgence began in the twentieth century with modern art and continues to flourish today. 

Interesting facts about Netherlands

• One third of the Dutch territory is actually below sea level

• Coffeeshop in Netherlands sells drugs

• Prostitution is considered legal as long as prostitutes are at least 18 and clients at least 16 years old.

• Same-sex marriage is legal since 2001

• Euthanasia(assisted death by doctor) is legal since 2002

• Orange is the Netherlands' national color because of the first Kings name was Willem van Oranje (Oranje means Orange)

• Netherlands researchers changed the carrot color to Orange in honour of the Royal family. The original color was white, yellow and purple.

• The Netherlands has the highest concentration of museums in the world.

• In the Netherlands there are twice as many bikes as cars. There is 15.000 km of cycle tracks.

• Dutch are among the tallest people in the world.

• Dutch ladies get kissed three times (right-left-right) on the cheek when meeting friends

• Almost all Dutch people can swim, skate and ride a bike