Things to Do in December

Posted by heather No Comments
Dec 6 2011

Image Credit: Holland.com

If you haven’t realised it already, it is December – one of my favourite months in the year.  And just what Dutch goodies can you look forward to for the month?  Here’s a small selection.

  • Dickens Festival – Visiting Deventer from the 17th of December until the 18th of December might make you think you have stepped back in time and understandably so, as the historic city centre will provide the backdrop for the Dickens Festival.
  • Antwerp Christmas Market – Let’s give a shout out to our readers from Belgium and mention the Christmas Market that is in full swing from December 10th until December 29th.
  • Holiday Performances – It is always around this time of year that we get extra/special performances of classical concerts and performances like A Christmas Carol.  If you are living in Den Haag, then you might want to take a look at these performances.
  • Oliebollen – You may have been able to get them since November but it is December, and in particular New Year’s Eve, that these are eaten.  If you’ve not had one then let me describe them for you.  Oliebollen are a variety of dumpling or doughnut made by dropping dough into a deep fryer filled with hot oil.  They are then usually served with powdered sugar.
  • New Year’s Eve Fireworks Rotterdam – It may sound like World War III on the night but it isn’t until midnight on December 31st 2011 that the national firework display will light up the sky around the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam.
  • New Year’s Dive Scheveningen – Okay, technically this one falls into January but I wanted to make sure that I gave you plenty of warning.  The description on Holland.com’s website is too perfect to change, so here it is in all it’s glory:

“Celebrate the New Year with a typical Dutch tradition: a new year’s dive. There are over 60 locations in the Netherlands where you can jump into the sea or a lake. No matter how cold it is, at least 25.000 people plunge into the freezing water each January.  

The tradition started in 1960 when a swim club decided to start the year fresh with a plunge in the sea. The New Year’s dive received national attention after a big soup brand decided to sponsor it. From that moment on, the amount of participants and locations has increased every year.

The New Year’s dive is cold, bold and the best way to start the year fresh. The largest dive is held at the beach of Scheveningen, where well over 10.000 people plunge into the sea each year. This spectacle is also great to watch from the sideline.”

What are you looking forward to in December?

Poem Making, Sinterklaas Style

Posted by heather No Comments
Dec 1 2011

Photo Credit: Svilen001

Welcome to the first day of December.  No doubt a busy month in many calendars, especially the calendar of Sinterklaas who has a lot of presents to deliver, many naughty children to round up and take back with him to Spain and no doubt quite a bit of unpacking and washing to do.

In honour of Sinterklaas and his departure back to sunny Spain, I’ve got one more Sinterklaas tradition to tell you about…the Sinterklaas poem.

If you aren’t receiving your Sinterklaas gifts on December 5th by a kindly neighbour knocking on the door, dropping off a bag of gifts and then running away before the door opens so as to not spoil the surprise, then you are probably exchanging gifts with fellow adults, in which case you may find two traditions mixed into one event.  By the way, if you are the kindly neighbour with sack delivering responsibilities, I wish you luck!

The first tradition you may experience on the night is that your gift may be hidden inside of a homemade “surprise.”  The surprise element seems to be a little bit vague but I have heard stories of surprises ranging from a paper mache Eiffel Tower with a ring inside to a slightly less impressive box filled with sticky syrup.

The second tradition is in the form of a poem.  The poem, usually written in Dutch, is supposed to be written for the gift receiver by Sinterklaas (or in some cases Zwarte Piet).  It “should” be kind in tone but with room to poke fun at the individual’s bad habits or character deficiencies.

Never having written a Sinterklaas poem, I decided to try my hand at it and here is my result.

Sinterklaas was deep in thought,

About a present that Marieke would like a lot.

Every day she had studied hard,

All her Dutch words written out on card.

Past tense, present tense, singular and plural,

All the rules went round her head in one gigantic whirl.

And then that was the moment,

That the Sint knew he had blown it.

Because instead of Dutch BYKI Express,

He had got her the NT2 Staatsexamen test.

Not likely to win a poetry award, I know, but fun all the same.  And now comes the two questions that you no doubt knew were coming…what surprise will you be making and what Sinterklaas gift are you hoping for?

Pepernoten and Kruidnoten

Posted by heather 1 Comment
Nov 29 2011

Pepernoten (Photo Credit: M.Minderhoud)

As the studio lights dim and two spotlights focus on two white plates with brown cookies on each, you hear the presenter ask, “and Transparent Language reader, which plate has the pepernoten on them?”

You glance to the plate on the left and then you glance to the plate on the right.  While both plates contain cookie like items, slightly brown in colour and perhaps even recognizable from the supermarket or after having been thrown in your direction by a Zwarte Piet, knowing which falls into the pepernoten category and which into the kruidnoten category can be a challenge.

Rest assured, you are not alone.  Many people struggle with knowing the difference between the two.

Pepernoten

Pepernoten are a kind of cookie-like dessert, traditionally associated with the Sinterklaas holiday.  They are light brown, randomly shaped, and made from flour, sugar, aniseed, cinnamon, and cloves.  They tend to be fairly chewy, although if they are left out uncovered they will harden up a bit.

According to Wikipedia, “a particularly distinct custom associated with pepernoten is throwing them in handfuls through the room so children can look for them. Originally this is an ancient fertility symbol (like a farmer sowing seeds) not unlike throwing rice at a marriage.”

Kruidnoten (Photo Credit: Ciell)

Kruidnoten

Kruidnoten on the other hand are harder, have a slightly different colour and are more round and uniform in shape.  They are also associated with the Sinterklaas period.  If you are familiar with speculaas, then you will recognize kruidnoten as they are made with mainly the same ingredients.

An exciting trend has taken off in relation to kruidnoten as they can now be found with all sorts of coverings.  Everything from chocolate covered kruidnoten to caramel kruidnoten can be found.

If you would like to make your own kruidnoten and/or pepernoten, you’ll find lots of recipes on the internet.  Here is one that I found on www.food.com for “Dutch Pepernoten.”

Ingredients:

50 g butter (1 3/4 oz)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup self raising flour

 Speculaas spices

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground aniseed

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1.  Cream the butter and sugar, then add spice mix (or spices).

2.  Add the flour and milk and make very small marble sized balls.

3.  Bake for 10-15 minutes at 160 C (320 F) until golden.

Do you have a favourite kruidnoten or pepernoten recipe?

 

 

Folders, Folders Everywhere

Posted by heather No Comments
Nov 27 2011

folder (de) – leaflet; brochure

If you are going to live in the Netherlands, then the word “folder” is one you are going to get to know well.  On an almost daily basis, these folders – advertising the current items on sale and the special offers being made – will shoot through your mailbox.  There are loads.  Everyone from the supermarket to the do-it-yourself shop has one.

Typically, although not always, you won’t find any coupons to cut out or bring along.  You just need to visit the shop on the advertised dates to take advantage of the special offer.  What type of words and phrases do you find in these advertisements?  Below is a selection of some of the more common ones but no doubt some of you can think of many more.

  • deze week – this week
  • vanaf – from (typically you will see something like “vanaf donderdag” – from Thursday), indicating you won’t be able to get the special price or sometimes even the item until that day
  • de (prijs) acties in deze folder zijn geldig van maandag t/m zondag of zolang de voorraad strekt – the price actions in this brochure are valid from Monday until Sunday (including) or for as long as they are in stock – be sure to look for this, usually at the bottom of the folder, and note that not all shops run their actions from Monday until Sunday
  • voordelig – beneficial/lucrative
  • per stuk – per piece/item
  • hoge kwaliteit – high quality
  • op is op – gone is gone/finished is finished/out is out
  • korting – discount
  • mega voordeel – mega discount
  • alle combinaties mogelijk – all combinations possible
  • 2e halve prijs – 2nd half price
  • gratis – free
  • nieuw – new
  • spaar voor gratis producten – save for free products
  • 2 voor €7 – 2 for €7
  • waardebon – gift certificate
  • nu of nooit – now or never
  • niet geldig – not valid
  • m.u.v. (met uitzondering van) – with exception of

Another way to view the actions and special offers that a shop has each week is to visit their website.  On the website you will typically find an online version of the printed folder that comes through the door.  Or, alternatively, you can head to www.folders.nl where you can view all the folders available via category, location and/or store name.

Keep your eye out for the folders that are delivered this week or if you don’t live in the Netherlands browse through folders.nl and see what discounts you see.  What’s the favourite deal that you see?

 

They Make Carpets

Posted by Elena No Comments
Nov 15 2011

Dutch design outfit WE MAKE CARPETS has only been around for four years, but they have more than lived up to the promise of their name.  The members of this collective–which combines art and design–are Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten and Bob Waardenburg.  In a variety of venues, they have created and displayed “unusual” carpets, using materials as far from usual as pasta and bandaids.

My favorite is their brick carpet, a large-scale public installation in Eindhoven that places the concept of “carpeting” in an outdoor context.  But there are so many good ones…the plastic forks, the muisjes…(you guys know about muisjes, right?  The pastel candies that the Dutch scatter on their morning bread?)

For Dutch Design Week this year, WE MAKE CARPETS created several miniature carpets instead of a completing a larger project.  This inclination toward the diminutive is, of course, strikingly Dutch.  For those of you who don’t know about Madurodam, well, it’s a theme park in the Hague which features miniature versions of pretty much everything in Holland.  It is more than worth checking out.  As are all the WMC carpets.

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