{"id":605,"date":"2012-10-15T10:10:06","date_gmt":"2012-10-15T15:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicebyrd.com\/?p=605"},"modified":"2012-11-15T22:08:56","modified_gmt":"2012-11-16T03:08:56","slug":"going-dutch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/going-dutch\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Dutch: The Culture and Christian History of the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Janice Byrd<\/em><\/p>\n

What is now the country of the Netherlands was first Christianized in the eighth century.\u00a0 The first years of the Reformation begun by Martin Luther missed the Netherlands, but by the seventeenth century the second wave of the Reformation brought the Anabaptists, the Mennonites (founded by a Dutch Anabaptist Menno Simons), and the Calvinists.\u00a0 The Dutch even fought a civil war between the liberal and orthodox Calvinists.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands won its independence from Catholic Spain, with seven Protestant counties and one Catholic.\u00a0 (The largest county was called Holland and to this day, the entire country of the Netherlands is often referred to as Holland.)\u00a0 Calvinism became the official state religion in the form of the Dutch Reformed Church.<\/p>\n

Netherlands became a haven for all religiously persecuted people.\u00a0 The country gained a reputation for its tolerance, and immigrants poured into every area of the tiny country.\u00a0 By the end of the eighteenth century, half of Amsterdam\u2019s population was first generation immigrants.\u00a0 French Huguenots and the Pilgrims from England also came to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

By the late nineteenth century, a system of four religious \u201cpillars\u201d had developed.\u00a0 The orthodox Calvinists, other Protestants (including Baptists), Catholics, and Jews, which were 1\/8 of the population in Amsterdam, tolerated each other and coexisted peaceably, each in their own culture.\u00a0 This is the Dutch definition of \u201ctolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n

During World War II, most of the Jewish population in the Netherlands was exterminated (the largest percentage of any country, including Germany).\u00a0 Like most European countries after the War, Netherlands began to secularize.\u00a0 It is now one of the least religious countries in Europe. \u00a0By the end of the twentieth century, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, prostitution, and drug use had been legalized.<\/p>\n

Dutch culture today tolerates practically anything and anyone.\u00a0 There is no death penalty and only a handful of people are ever incarcerated for more than five years because virtually nothing is illegal.\u00a0 The legality or propriety of any action is determined by the time, place and circumstance of its happening.\u00a0 There are designated places for legal drug use and prostitution.\u00a0 There are rules and distinctions for euthanasia and abortions which determine their rightness or wrongness.<\/p>\n

The newest challenges to Dutch tolerance and \u201cpillarization\u201d are the Islamic immigrants from Indonesia, Suriname, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan.\u00a0 Only recently, after the murders of two Dutch leaders by Muslim extremists has the government started restricting its very liberal immigration policy.<\/p>\n

The Dutch government is very socialistic–with universal health care, years of unemployment benefits at 80% of salary, and over three months of paid vacation time for everyone.\u00a0 The standard of living is high although the Netherlands has a higher density population than any country on earth including India and China.<\/p>\n

Netherlands is a picturesque place, which still looks like the classic images of Holland.\u00a0 Old windmills and new ones are everywhere, especially in the south, as are dikes.\u00a0 People still wear wooden shoes in their gardens, and cheese is eaten at every meal.\u00a0 There are more kinds of yogurt than you can imagine.\u00a0 Jersey milk cows dot the landscape as do flowers of all types.\u00a0 May is tulip time, but the blooms don\u2019t stay long on their stalks.\u00a0 Farmers cut them to allow the nutrients to go to the bulb, which is the real crop.\u00a0 If you are lucky enough to see the fields in bloom, you will be overwhelmed by their beauty!<\/p>\n

The Dutch eat lots of bread!\u00a0 I once had a lady tell me that her husband was a diabetic and his doctor had restricted his bread consumption to seven slices a day!\u00a0 Breakfast is usually bread with cheese, jam, chocolate sprinkles, or meat.\u00a0 Lunch is always cold cut sandwiches.\u00a0 They don\u2019t eat potato chips with their sandwiches and think it\u2019s strange that we do.\u00a0 Chips are just for snacking.\u00a0 They put mayonnaise on French fries, but not on sandwiches.\u00a0 Potatoes are eaten with the evening meal which is usually earlier than other continental countries, around 5:30 to 6:00 pm.\u00a0 They love cookies of all kinds, but gingersnaps are a specialty.<\/p>\n

There are whole parking facilities for bicycles.\u00a0 Bikes have their own lanes, lights, and the right of way.\u00a0 You will still see WWII vintage bicycles in use especially in the cities where newer ones would likely be stolen, and there\u2019s really no need for gears.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen couples well into their 80\u2019s with one on a handicapped scooter and the other on a bike.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be surprised if you\u2019re given the use of a bicycle while you\u2019re staying in a home.<\/p>\n

After a short time in the Netherlands, you\u2019ll understand the meaning of our expression \u201cDutch treat.\u201d\u00a0 (Of course, they have never heard of that expression and might be offended by your use of it.)\u00a0 The Dutch are not stingy, but their history as traders is embedded in their DNA, and their love of a bargain far surpasses the Scots\u2019 idea of thriftiness.<\/p>\n

Just about everyone except seniors speaks English or is learning it, which makes their propensity for frankness all the more direct.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be taken back when a Dutchman asks you how much money you earn, why you are divorced, or any other personal question, even if they\u2019ve just met you.\u00a0 The Dutch have an opinion about everything and they\u2019re not timid about voicing it.\u00a0 They speak loudly and often sound rude to our ears.\u00a0 There\u2019s no \u201cbeating around the bush\u201d or any attempt at diplomacy especially in their second language.<\/p>\n

The Dutch are the tallest group of people on earth which can cause problems considering the size of their homes and cars.\u00a0 Needless to say, they don\u2019t require a lot of personal space and will stand inches away from you when talking. \u00a0They love to brag about their country.\u00a0 From the way they talk you\u2019d think they were from someplace really big\u2014like Texas, instead of being from a very small country, much of it reclaimed from the sea.<\/p>\n

The Dutch are deep thinkers, yet as fun-loving as the sailors.\u00a0 They are confident, resilient, and can laugh at themselves.\u00a0 They love their royal family, art, and the traditions that make them truly a unique people.\u00a0 They value education and order.\u00a0 They are punctual!<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the Dutch are a lot like Americans.\u00a0 (Don\u2019t point that out to them, however, unless you want an argument.)\u00a0 They like to argue amongst themselves, and the Baptists are divided between the union and non-union churches. \u00a0They like to plan, organize, and direct activities.\u00a0 Sometimes their sense of tolerance makes them seem indifferent or two-faced.\u00a0 They hesitate to say that anyone is wrong.\u00a0 They root for the underdog–just like us.\u00a0 Unlike other European countries, they have sided with the U.S. on almost all international issues.<\/p>\n

The Dutch Christians have asked to work with Americans.\u00a0 They admire our passion, efficiency, and ingenuity.\u00a0 They want to trust us.\u00a0 They just don\u2019t want to be dictated to.\u00a0 They are indeed our \u201cDutch uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Janice Byrd What is now the country of the Netherlands was first Christianized in the eighth century.\u00a0 The first years of the Reformation begun by Martin Luther missed the Netherlands, but by the seventeenth century the second wave of the Reformation brought the Anabaptists, the Mennonites (founded by a Dutch Anabaptist Menno Simons), and […] Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions\/880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}