Country project

Netherlands

By IJ.

Flag meaning

Prior to the French Revolution, Orange was used in the Dutch flag instead of red, but it was never officially acknowledged. The orange, white and blue were the livery colours of the house of orange, which was the house that prince William came from.Ⅰ

At the siege of Leiden in 1574, soldiers wore these colours on their uniforms, and that is thought to be how the Orange-white-blue colours became popular among Dutch nationalists.

However, the orange dye that was used in the flag was unstable, so it would eventually turn red, leading the Netherlands to eventually change the flag’s colour to red, white and blue, a change that officially happened on the 19th of February, 1937.

Religion:

Clothing:

One of the first things you think about when somebody mentions the Netherlands are “clogs”.

Clogs are traditional wooden shoes that have been worn since the thirteenth century.

(When you wear clogs you might want to have socks on as well.)

Sport:

Football is very popular in the Netherlands, as is speed skating, cycling, field hockey, tennis and golf.

Music:

One Famous Dutch musician is André Rieu, a violinist.

Another Dutch musician is Ack van Rooyen, a jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is also the brother of Jerry van Rooyen, who was a Dutch trumpeter, conductor and composer.

Food:

Some Dutch food that you may have had:

IJzerkoekje (Iron Biscuit) is a soft cookie that is traditionally eaten by Dutch fishermen. The cookies were invented in the city of Vlaardingen and are baked on a chequered iron plate, creating a pattern on the IJzerkoekjes.

A Stroopwafel (Syrup waffle) is a wafer cookie made from two thin layers of baked dough joined together by a caramel filling.

Poffertjes are Dutch pancakes usually small about the size of a 50-cent piece but they are very puffy and have lots more flavour than a normal size pancake.

Climate:

The Netherlands has a moderate climate, overall cooler than Australia, but some days may be hotter than the temperature we usually get.

The average temperature that the Netherlands usually gets in summer is around 17° to 20° Celsius. In winter It usually gets an average of 3° to 8° Celsius, but on colder days can reach around 2° Celsius.

Plants and animals:

Common flowers in the Netherlands:

Tulips Anemones Calla lily

Narcissus Roses Snowdrops Crocuses

Tulips aren’t native to the Netherlands! They actually came from Turkey and Turkey started importing them to the Netherlands in the 16th century and the tulips became wildly popular in the Netherlands.

Animals in the Netherlands:

Holstien Friesian cattle:

The Holstien Friesian cattle breed originated in the Netherlands.

The breed comes in red and white (which is sort of like a reddish-brownish colour), and black and white.

They are the product of a high-quality breeding program.

The goal of breeding these healthy cows is to produce a high productivity and excellent quality of dairy.

This cow breed is one of the highest dairy producing cattle in the world.

Fun Facts

Ruling monarch: Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand.

Current Prime Minister: Mark Rutte.

Population: 17, 136, 930. Recorded on the 20th of July 2020.