Hooray! The Dutch lion has bitten the Mexican chihuahua in its ass! The whole neighbourhood here is cheering, blowing horns, shouting and I even thought I heard gunshots. Loud Oranje music is playing and I bet it will be a great party downtown again. We are on to the 1/4 finals against either Greece or Costa Rica.
It took a while until we got going. It was way too hot for soccer, even the grass looked tired. I was getting a little bored with the game, and then Mexico scored. The neighbourhood got very silent. I was worried, and I didn't understand why our reporter who was commenting on the game was still so relaxed. No problem, he said, all we have to do is make a goal too. Like we weren't trying that for the first 50 minutes. I was thinking of the disapointment if we would loose. Orange fever would be over immediately, and no one would talk about soccer again. People who would wait another day with cleaning up the orange flags and decorations would get nasty stares from their neighbours, and the people who painted their car orange would have to travel by public transportation. But, something changed. Our team changed tactics and the Mexicans got confused. And that's all it took, we came back and kicked ass!
Orange fever is getting stronger. Where in the match against Spain there were 17.500 people on the Museumsquare in Amsterdam watching the game, and 20.000 in the following two matches, this time there were 45.000 people dressed in Orange and they had to close the gates because even more were coming. We will be eating more orange food, wear even more orange shirts and weird stuff, and we will prepare for an even bigger party next time we play.
Even Sinterklaas and Orange Pete were there to support our team!
What an amazing start of the tournament! Yesterday, our soccer team beat Spain in the World Championships with an awesome 5 to 1. In 2010 we lost the World Championship finals against them, which hurt bad, but now we crushed them and we are happy again. After the game there was a big party over here, and today already the Dutch news sites reported that the Orange Fever is growing fast after yesterday's game. It will be fun for the Dutch kids who go to Spain this summer to have a vacation of drinking on the beach and dancing in the many clubs there. With a big smile they will order 5 beers, holding five fingers up to make it extra clear that they mean FIVE!
Dutch soccer fans watching the game in the soccer stadium in my town
Not only our soccer team did great. Our ladies hockey team beat Australia in the World Championships Hockey today. We hope that our soccer team will do the same when we play against them in a few days. Winning in soccer will have bigger impact here, but I must say the cute Dutch Hockey players in their miniskirts have a pretty big impact on me too. Anyway, today is a good day, and I will be enjoying my orange pie tonight!
No comment
Today it is also Little Flags Day. When I told my aunt, who normally is very silent, she became very enthusiastic and immediately wanted to make plans to go to the shopping center. Turned out she thought I was talking about Little Flags Week, which is the annual sale at one of the big fashion stores here. When I explained to her I meant that today is the day the herring boats, decorated with little flags, come home with fresh herring to start the new season. She was a little dissapointed by that. Most Dutch look forward to the new herring season though. The Herring Master declared the new herring to be of top quality, nicely white on the outside and deep red on the inside. The first barrel of herring was auctioned for 56.500 euros which will go to a good cause. When the first crowds at the fishshop are gone I will be enjoying a nice fresh herring too, hooray!
On December 7th Dutch Santa has his birthday, and brings presents to all the children in the country. His name is Sinterklaas, he dresses like a bishop, lives in Spain, rides a white horse called Amerigo, and his assistants are called Black Petes. Several weeks before his birthday he arrives in the Netherlands by boat, and is being welcomed by the mayor and a big crowd of kids and their parents. The Black Pete's cheer the children up by doing funny acrobatic tricks, throw around peppernuts and other kinds of candy, and they assist Sinterklaas since he is an old man and cannot get around that easy anymore. Well, except for the night before his birthday, because then he is able to ride a horse on rooftops and deliver big bags of presents to almost every house in the country. After that he and his servants drive their big boat back to Spain and we don't hear from him again, until the supermarkets decide it is time to get the sales up again by putting Sinterklaas candy in the racks again. A great and also very funny description of our Sinterklaas celebration is being narrated by David Sedaris, you can listen to it here:
Our Sinterklaas custom is slowly changing though. In the last decade his competitor Santa Claus is becoming more and more popular. Probably under influence of movies and cartoons from the USA more and more Dutch people get presents at Christmas Eve too. Lucky kids here, they now have two old friendly men who throw presents down the chimney that most people don't have anymore. Sometimes Sinterklaas is asked how he feels about this competition, but he never really goes into that subject. There doesn't seem to be bad blood between the two though.
Santa vs Sinterklaas
Another thing that has changed somewhat over the years is Black Pete. Where he used to be armed with sticks to hit the kids that have been bad, and a sack to put the real bad kids in to kidnap them to Spain, he now is unarmed and friendly to the kids and uses his sack only to carry treats to throw around. In the past years however more and more people demand changes regarding the way Black Pete looks. They claim that our Black Pete custom is racist and insulting to black people. The majority of the Dutch people turned out to be very sensitive about this subject, and massively responded on social media not to change our Black Pete custom, since it is our cultural heritage. Not that they ever complained about the upcoming popularity of his competitor Santa Claus. Getting extra gifts is more important than our cultural heritage, it seems.
Old School Black Petes
Since the first protests against Black Pete started a few years ago, there has been an ongoing discussion about the matter, with a lot of emotions on the part of the protesters, and on the part of the people who want to keep the Sinterklaas celebration as it is. Most Dutch people consider it an insult that our kid friendly and happy custom is being called racist. And they do seem to have a point, I think. A few years ago, a Dutch chocolate and whipped cream treat called 'Negrokisses' had a name change because of alleged racism. In Dutch language the word 'Negro' is generally an accepted term to use, both by white and black people. Also, the treat was very tasty and there wasn´t anything negative about them. Myself, I like black women a lot, I think they are beautiful, but I don´t consider that racist either. Some say Black Pete can´t be a racist thing, because the blackness comes from climbing up and down the chimney. That makes sense, especially considering the bunch of sticks he carries with him, which resembles a tool used by chimney sweepers.
Anti Black Pete protestors
The opposition has a different reading though. If Black Pete is blackened by the chimney, how come he has curly hair, big red lips, and huge golden earrings? And according to them Pete's outfit is not a chimney sweepers outfit, but it resembles the costume that black slave servants were wearing in the 1800's. What's more important, they disagree with the idea that the Netherlands are so innocent when it comes to racism. The big role that our country has had in the slave trade and the refusal of the Dutch government to take responsability for this gruesome past claims otherwise. Also, research shows that some minority groups have to deal with a lot of prejudice when applying for a job or getting in to a club on a saturday night. When a black man wore a sign that said 'Black Pete is Racist' in the middle of the crowd when Sinterklaas arrived, policemen threw him onto the floor and arrested him for disturbing the celebration. Maybe we need to take a good look at ourselves and ask again, are we really so tolerant in the Netherlands?
Free Speech in the Netherlands; Anti Black Pete protester arrested for disturbing the festivities, kids can feel safe again
The discussion about Black Pete is still ongoing, and it will probably take years until a good solution is found. This week the Center for Dutch Culture and Immaterial Heritage presented the new look of Black Pete. He will loose his curly hair and earrings, and his lips will be thinner. The protesters aren't satisfied with these small changes, and they suggest a more radical make-over, and suggested a blue Pete with purple hair. The trouble is his name, it's Black Pete. Changing the looks will be easier than changing his name, I think. Like our prime-minister said: "Black Pete is black, I cannot change that."
From Left to Right: A new Pete with straight hair, a blue Pete with Lady Gaga's hair, and an old school Pete who looks a bit pale
In the Netherlands we enjoy a lot of holidays compared to some other countries, and one of the nicest is the extended Pentecost weekend. Overall the weather is great this time of year, and there are some fun things to do, especially for the young people here.
In the North-West of the country kids celebrate Luilak, freely translated it means Lazy Ass. While the grown ups enjoy their day off by staying in bed and sleep longer, the kids get up early and roam around making as much noise as they can. They sing songs, blow horns, and tie cans behind their bikes to make sure no one will be sleeping that morning. They also make a mess by smearing butter and eggs on windows and doors. The older kids make an even bigger mess by making big fires, light fireworks and acts of vandalism.
No, she didn't get married, she is waking up the Lazy Asses!
In many Dutch towns Spring Festivities take place. There are markets, music, and the local Shooter's Guilds show off their flag waving and drinking skills. These Shooter's Guilds are recreational clubs for men who dress in Medieval city guard costumes. Every year they have shooting contests where the best shooter is made King of the guild. Also the guilds compete with each other on bigger contests with shooting and flag waving. Their most popular past time activity is drinking, since the women are not part of the guild so they can party hard without the nagging of their wives who want them to go home.
A Shooter's Guild King, who won another silver plaque by killing the badly made fake bird
The best Pentecost (Pinksteren, in Dutch) event however is Pinkpop. Since 1965, the best rock festival is organized in the utter south of the Netherlands. Musicians from all over the world come to play here, and the audience enjoys two days of great performances. During the night they camp on the Pinkpop campsite, so they don't have to worry about finding their way home after smoking pot, doing XTC and drink all the time. XTC (or MDMA) is not legalized here, but to make sure the kids are safe while using it, there are XTC testing stands at mayor parties and festivals where kids can have their drugs checked so they know they are taking the good stuff, without being arrested.
The Pinkpop Festival terrain in the utter South of the country, where you can see one of the few hills we have on the left
The Pinkpop festival will have some big stars again this year, like the Rolling Stones, Metallica, Epica, Gogol Bordello and many more. Like every year the highlights of the festival will be aired on TV, and that's where I will enjoy this years Pentecost again, without long waiting lines for the bar and the toilets, and under a steady roof in case of rain.
