From oliebollen to King’s Day: Dutch traditions that keep coming back
Fireworks, circle birthdays and flea-market chaos: in the latest episode of MAG Going Dutch, Luba and Salomé unpack the Dutch traditions that can feel bizarre, brilliant or both.
Their guest is Euse, who grew up in the Netherlands and brings a mix of affection and scepticism to the subject. Some traditions, he says, make perfect sense once you grow up with them. Others still feel slightly absurd, even to Dutch people themselves.
New Year’s Eve is one of the clearest examples. Euse has never joined the traditional cold plunge in the North Sea on New Year’s Day, preferring to watch from a safe distance, but he does understand the appeal of seasonal rituals built around food. For him, the real highlight is not icy water but fresh oliebollen. Eaten cold, they can feel heavy and disappointing. Freshly made around midnight, he says, they are a completely different story. Like many holiday foods, they are also made in ridiculous quantities, which means people enjoy them enthusiastically for a day or two and then avoid them for the rest of the year.
The conversation soon turns to fireworks, one of the most debated Dutch traditions of all. Euse describes the country as divided: some people love the spectacle, others are relieved that consumer fireworks are being phased out. His own view is fairly clear. Organised fireworks can be beautiful, he says, but hours of uncontrolled explosions in residential streets are another matter entirely. For internationals, the scale of Dutch New Year fireworks can feel extreme. For locals, it is either part of the charm or exactly the reason change is needed.
Birthdays provide another cultural contrast. Euse grew up between Dutch and Caribbean birthday styles, and the difference could hardly be bigger. Caribbean celebrations, he explains, are loud, packed with food, music and movement. Dutch birthdays are quieter and more structured: guests sit in a circle, eat cake, drink coffee or lemonade, and usually leave within a couple of hours. He says he has come to appreciate both, precisely because they are such opposite experiences. The Dutch version may be calm, but it has its own charm. The strange habit of congratulating relatives of the birthday person, however, still remains a slightly mysterious one.
Then there are the visual traditions that seem almost too odd to be real. Euse confirms that giant inflatable figures in front of someone’s house really are a thing when they turn fifty. Once you know about it, he says, you start spotting them everywhere. The same goes for tulip fields: beautiful in theory, slightly overrated in practice, especially once tourists turn them into photo backdrops. Still, he understands the appeal, particularly if you find a quieter field away from the crowds.
King’s Day gets a more enthusiastic review. Euse calls it one of the best traditions in the country, partly because it turns the whole city into a mix of party, market and treasure hunt. The day begins early, often painfully early, if you want the best second-hand finds before anyone else. And while day drinking in orange clothing may be the image most outsiders recognise, Euse argues that the flea market is where some of the most creative energy appears. People do not just sell objects, but tiny concepts, games and improvised stalls that reveal just how inventive Dutch celebrations can be.
Sinterklaas also makes a brief return in the episode. Euse says his family celebrated almost everything around it: chocolate letters, sweets and presents, with little concern for the more controversial parts of the tradition. As a child, he remembers mainly the excitement of gifts appearing and chocolate being widely available, which is probably all most children care about anyway.