19 Strange Dutch Habits and Customs
If you’ve only just arrived in The Netherlands or been in the country for a while there are a lot of strange Dutch habits, customs traditions to discover. Here are just nineteen of the weird things the Dutch get up to.
1) Cycle everywhere without bike helmets
Maybe it is cycling from a very early age that makes the Dutch very confident when it comes to getting about on two wheels. Not only are they able to multitask while cycling but they do so without even wearing bike helmets (and think it’s strange if anyone does).
Read more: How To Cycle Like The Dutch
2) Eat very salty liquorice
If a Dutch person ever offers you liquorice (Dutch drop) be very careful. It could be a trap. Some types of Dutch liquorice have a very extreme salty taste that will make everyone of your taste buds scream out in horror. It’s hard to understand how the Dutch can love the stuff so much.
Read more: The Horrors of Dutch Drop
3) Ignore emergency alarms (if it’s on the first Monday of the month)
On the first Monday of every month, at noon, a rather scary sounding alarm screeches over the whole of the country. The Dutch ignore it though since they know it is just a scheduled test. But what happens if there is a real emergency on the first Monday of the month at noon?
Read more: The Emergency Alarm
4) Use the Dutch word ‘dus’ for everything
The Dutch word ‘dus’ (which mean ‘so’ in English) is very flexable. It can be used to communicate a wide range of thoughts, feelings and emotions. It can be everything from an angry stop word to a suggestive come on (and more). That’s why it is best not to get the intended meaning mixed up.
Read more: The Many Meanings of Dus
5) Celebrate birthdays by sitting in a circle with tea, coffee and a slice of cake
If you only consider a party to be a party if the music is too loud, the police have been called three times and someone is passed out in the corner you are going to be slightly disappointed by a Dutch birthday party. It mostly involves sitting in a circle and drinking coffee. Even on this list it is one of the most strange Dutch habits.
Read more: The Dutch Circle Party Tradition
6) Go camping in style
When the Dutch go camping they go camping on their own terms. Why should getting in touch with nature be done without indoor plumping, a fridge/freezer, washing machine, heating, a home entertainment system and the other luxuries of home?
Read more: A Dutch Guide To Camping
7) Greet each other with three kisses on the cheek
If a Dutch person suddenly kisses you on the cheek three times don’t get any romantic ideas. It is just their way of saying hello (and goodbye). It’s usually reserved for close friends and family so don’t go over using it yourself. That would just be odd.
Read more: The Dutch Three Kiss Rule
8) Understand the use of ‘de’ and ‘het’ even though the rule makes no sense
Most Dutch people will tell you there is a very simple rule for using the words ‘de’ and ‘het’ (which both mean ‘the’ in English). Then they remember all the times the rule does not work and admit you just have to be Dutch to understand it.
Read more: The Great Dutch Mystery – De and Het
9) Celebrate the Kings birthday (or anything else) by dressing up in orange
Whenever it is celebration time in the Netherlands the Dutch will go orange crazy. It’s no surprise since it is the official colour of the Dutch royal family (house orange). It must be a very confusing time for anyone who suffers from colour blindness.
Read More: The King’s Day Guide
10) Put lots of mayonnaise on their fries
The Dutch love mayonnaise. They love it so much that every chip shop in the land will automatically add it to your order if you don’t explicitly tell them not to. Anyone who does request not to have it is seen as an oddity. In The Netherlands mayonnaise is basically considered its own food group.
11) Drive on the right (which is weird if you are British)
Never get into an argument with the Dutch about which country drives on the correct side of the road. You will lose. They will use your own language (English) against you to explain why driving on the right side of the road makes them right and you wrong.
Read More: Driving in Holland
12) Sometimes live in dangerous houses (especially in Amsterdam)
Old Dutch houses have a lot of charm and character, which is a polite way of saying they can be incredibly dangerous. Spiral stairs so steep they can be classified as twisty ladders, fuses that would withstand a lighting strike and mice as house mates are just a few of the strange things you might find.
Read More: The Dutch House Guide
13) Ignore all the rules of queuing
When it comes to queuing in The Netherlands there are no rules, only survivors. It is every man, woman and child for themselves. Anyone who has ever tried to board a busy train in the Netherlands will be very familiar with this (and probably still suffer from flashbacks).
Read more: How To Queue Like The Dutch
14) Wait ages to be served by waiters
The biggest mistake you can make when trying to get served by a Dutch waiter is trying to get served by a Dutch waiter. They are masters in finding other distractions. They will only serve you when they are ready and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.
Read More: The Trouble With Dutch Waiters
15) Recognize the official start of spring based on ladies fashion
It is not the appearance of the first tulip or the first baby bunny that ushers in the start of spring in The Netherlands. It is Rokjesdag, the day Dutch ladies start wearing short skirts again (and the day most guys start accidentally walking into lamp posts).
Read More: What is Rokjesdag?
16) Celebrate New Year’s Eve with a lot of very big explosions
Most countries will have a few safe firework displays on New Year’s Eve. Holland on the other hand actually tries to blow itself up. At the stroke of midnight it is as if someone tosses a lit match into the countries entire supply of fireworks (and it does not run out till at least 2am).
Read More: How The Dutch Celebrate New Year’s Eve
17) Are un-phased by parts of their country being seven meters below sea level
If you lived with the constant risk of your country being reclaimed by the sea you would probably be a little nervous. Not the Dutch. Most of them don’t even think about it. Maybe it’s because to them The Dutch are not below sea level, the sea is above Dutch level and they are the masters of it.
18) Eat lots and lots of chocolate for breakfast
The Dutch love sweet things on their bread for breakfast. Chocolate paste, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate shavings and more. What could possibly go wrong with giving children (and adults) a massive sugar rush every morning?
19) Celebrate Sinterklaas on the 5th of December
Sinterklaas might seem like a serious copyright infringement to anyone who gets their gifts from Santa on December 25th, but don’t be mistaken. Sinterklaas is the original. Santa is the copy. In this case it is the rest of us that are being weird.
Read More: The Sinterklaas Guide
Are there any strange Dutch habits, customs or traditions missing from the list? Let me know in the comments below.
What to think about bbqen inside the house and gourmetten ???
That is another strange one. I enjoy it though but I’m gonna add it to the next list. Thanks :)
Most Dutchies have a birthday calendar in their toilet room.
They eat oliebollen and appelflappen at New Year’s Eve.
During the Sinterklaas period they eat pepernoten, kruidnoten, taaitaai and gevuld speculaas.
With their average height they are one of the tallest people in the world.
Yep. My wife is Dutch so we have a calendar in the WC.
Swart Piet at Christmas, throwing sweets off-the-wall back of lorries during mayor’s day festival, human manure on the flower beds… Etc
Human manure? I did not know about that one.
Noone knows about that, cause that is not something the Dutch do…
yes they really do. My MIL and her late husband immigrated to Canada with their respective families. Even here they used human manure and they both had done so in Holland during the war and afterward. Mom says they didnt put it on the carrots because they would taste ‘funny’! True story!
When it’s still cold outside right after spring, each time the sun shines they go outside eating and drinking on a terrace.
That’s so true. And they have BBQs. I’ll have to add it to the next list.
Whenever I have an argument with my wife, in the end I can say: “Sorry hoor!” And it’s allright!
Sorry hoor sounds like Sorry whore…
Yeah. I’ve always found it strange the way it sounds like you’re basically calling someone names when you apologies to them :)
With number 16 your on thin ice. Try to find some news articles about the fireworks dissaster in Enschede. A complete area was blown to pieces by an accident in a fireqorks storage.
All other just make me grin
That happened almost 20 years ago and I was there… Nothing this ice about it…
I miss:1) congratulating every family member with the birthday of one of them (so you get congratulated on the birthday of your son)
2) Making private events (lik birthdays, births etc.) public by putting the figure of stork in your gareden when you had a baby or by putting funny dressed puppets on your front porch when you reach the age of 50 (and caal that an ‘Abrahem’ or a ‘Sara’.
3) Doling out just one cookie or one piece of cake when you on a coffee-visit, so you have to wait if you ever get more (it’s not considered polite to ask for it…)
4) Eating ‘vla’, which is nor a custard, nor a sauce…and their yoghurt is fluid, too….
Well, I got used to all these things. And what I don’t like, I just don’t adopt (like ice-skating gives me a hell of pain in the ankles. I tried, though…it’s very dutch. Everbody gets crazy about the ‘Elfstedentocht’. They call it ‘Elfstedenfever’).
When I came here from Germany, I thought the Dutch were just the same, only with a different lan
guage…
Those are good ones. I’ll have to add them to the list for a follow up post.
Hello all,
This was fun to read. Thank you.
I did not see anything about ‘bitterballen en bier’ (brown fruit and beer), or cheese squares and mosterd sauce, or kroketten, frikandellen, eierballen etc……. These are also dutch habits, to be served bitterballen at the end of a congress or seminar.
Have fun in dutchyland
That’s a good one. I might have to do a follow up list with them some time.
All the above are why I love visiting the Netherlands (though in fact I mostly only visit Holland (the two provinces)).
It’s also why I love living here.
Regarding celebrating the King’s birthday April 27th … it used to be much stranger though! You might remember that we celebrated the Queens birthday on April 30th, but that used to be the birthday of his grandmother, Juliana! So for over 30 years we celebrated the Queens birthday (his mother Beatrix) on April 30th even though it was not her birthday, but her mother’s birthday.. even when Juliana passed away. The reason why is that Beatrix was born January 31st … too cold for a national celebration 😉
Haha. Good point. I guess they will always have to find away to keep it in the warmish part of the year.
Nou, this is dubbel dutch
How about the word ‘heh’ it’s used for anything they like! Or; Zo, he, he! This is said when they finish a job or when they just sit down? Or just,.. he? Meaning…. what?
That’s a good one. I’ll have to listen out for it more.
We make appointments to see our friends.
Personally I’ve never found that too strange but I have noticed it. My dutch wife and her friends are always getting their calendars out to see when they are next going to meet up.
Dutch bluntness in language; not necessarily impolite, just blunt and to the point – even with the traffic signs! For example if you mistakenly drive the wrong way on a one-way street, the bluntness of the warning sign will make you want to get out put your car on your shoulders and walk with it in the correct direction. Ga Terug! (Go Back!). Complete with an exclamation mark! Wow. Ja meneer.
Haha. I’m gonna have to look out for those signs now.
The fireworks are more on the Island of Curacao.