1. Home
  2. Student Stories
  3. Dutch holidays: when and how are they celebrated?
Reading time: 8 min.
Share

Dutch holidays: when and how are they celebrated?

In the Netherlands, we celebrate many different holidays, each with its own unique traditions. Some of them are even public holidays, meaning that you don’t have classes. It can be quite useful for you to know what you can do on those days or why you are free. Are you curious who that old man in the red coat and hat riding a horse in winter is? You will find out here!

Photo of Marit
Marit
Kingsday festival in the city centre of Enschede.
Photo by Emiel Muijderman

Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten is a fun celebration for children in the Netherlands, held on the 11th of November. This holiday stems from Saint Martinus, who was known for his charity and protecting the poor – especially children – and was buried on the 11th of November 397. Since then, it has become a tradition to give something to the children that day; first only to the poor, but later it developed into a broader celebration for all children to participate in.

Sint Maarten is celebrated like Halloween, but instead of dressing up in spooky costumes, children decorate lanterns and go door-to-door in their neighbourhood to ask for candy. To get their sweets, they first need to sing a traditional Sint Maarten song. However, Sint Maarten is not celebrated throughout the whole Netherlands and sadly, it is not celebrated here in Enschede.

Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas is one of the most iconic Dutch holidays, which is celebrated on 5 December. This celebration starts in November already, when Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), an old man with a long beard, arrives with his horse Amerigo (nowadays called Ozosnel) and his helpers, the ‘Pieten,’ on his boat from Spain. During his time in the Netherlands, children can leave their shoe by the fireplace at night, sing a song and wake up to gifts and sweets that Sinterklaas brought during the night.

On 5 December, the evening before Sinterklaas’ birthday, the big celebration takes place. Children are brought gifts in a jute sack, usually accompanied by poems, hinting at what the gift is. Typical Sinterklaas treats include pepernoten (small ginger-spice cookies), chocolate letters and marzipan.

However, Sinterklaas isn’t just for kids! Friend groups and families play a version of Secret Santa, in which you draw the name of someone that you need to buy a gift for. Usually, these gifts are creatively disguised in a so-called ‘surprise’ and accompanied by a poem. So, if you’re still looking for a cosy activity with your friends this winter, you should really give this tradition a try!

Christmas

In the Netherlands, Christmas lasts two days: 25 and 26 December. Very convenient, because usually the first of these days is celebrated with one side of the family, and the second with the other. Since Sinterklaas is already celebrated with lots of gifts, usually Christmas is celebrated without it. There’s a lot of food, however! Often, every family member brings a dish to share at dinner. Another Dutch classic during Christmas is gourmetten: everyone gets their own tiny pan to grill meat, vegetables, omelettes or even tiny pannenkoeken on a big, hot plate in the middle of the table. This way, nobody needs to worry about being in the kitchen the whole day to prepare a fancy dish!

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is an extensively celebrated holiday with two essentials: fireworks and oliebollen. Usually, people gather with their friends and family and bake their own oliebollen (deep-fried dough balls) and apple fritters. Both are delicious and are also sold in oliebollen stands throughout Enschede, which are definitely worth trying! At 12 o’clock at night, fireworks are lit up and champagne is toasted. Here in the Netherlands, fireworks are only legal this one night, so the Dutch really go all out.

Moreover, in some regions in the Netherlands, including Enschede, carbide shooting is a popular tradition on the 31st of December. During carbide shooting, calcium carbide is blown up in milk churns, resulting in a loud bang and the lid or a football being shot away. Originally, this tradition was meant to chase away the bad spirits. Do not try this at home (or anywhere in inhabited areas 😉), but rather go to the meadows, where carbide shooting is usually done.

New Year’s Day

Sleeping in and chilling on New Year’s Day? Not for the Dutch, because they like to start the new year fresh with a nieuwjaarsduik (New Year’s plunge). During this event, people go to the beach, usually wearing an orange hat, and dive into the cold water. Even if you don’t dive in yourself, it’s worth going to watch this event!

Carnaval

Carnaval is not only celebrated in Brazil or Venice, but also in the Netherlands – especially in the South. It is originally a Catholic celebration that marked the beginning of the 40-day fasting period ahead of Easter. Nowadays, it is known for big celebrations, with parades, costumes and parties. During this three-day festival, cities change their names. For example, Den Bosch is known as Oeteldonk, which can be quite confusing if you’re not aware! In Enschede and around, carnaval is celebrated less extensively than in the South, but it is still worth checking out if you’re around!

Koningsdag

Another big festive holiday is King’s Day, on the 27th of April, which is a national holiday in the Netherlands. During this day, in literally every city, people dress up in orange to celebrate the king’s birthday (whose family name is van Oranje: “of orange”). The streets turn into one big flea market, where people sell their used belongings for cheap prices, accompanied by a lot of music, street parties and festivals.

Remembrance Day and Liberation Day

On the 4th of May, we remember all Dutch victims who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions. Throughout the whole Netherlands, there are commemorations at local war memorials. At 8 p.m., the whole country is silent for 2 minutes to remember the victims: even trains pause for 2 minutes to show their respect. The next day, on the 5th of May, we celebrate the liberation from the German occupation of World War II, with many events and music festivals.

Ascension Day

40 days after Easter, Ascension Day is celebrated. The Dutch tradition is to go dauwtrappen (‘’kicking the dew’’): waking up very early to go for a walk or bike ride in nature. Originally, people would walk barefoot through the grass, believing the dew had a healing function. But don’t worry, nowadays wearing shoes is totally acceptable ;). During the rest of the day, you won’t have to be bored either: usually, many events and festivals are organised on this day.

Prinsjesdag

On the third Tuesday in September, Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day), takes place. On this day, the royal family travels with their golden coach to the Ridderzaal in The Hague, where the king delivers a speech about the government’s (financial) plans for the upcoming year. It has become a tradition for female invitees to wear the most outstanding hats; not only to be stylish, but also to make a statement.

Easter, Pentecost and Good Friday

Of course, some holidays are missing from this list: Easter, Pentecost and Good Friday. Those days are celebrated, just like in many other countries. There is only one big difference: Easter and Pentecost each come with two days of celebration. We just really love our holidays, because why have one day off, when you can have two 😉?

Related stories