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.
Try to explain “gezellig” 😂
We are congratulating everyone remotely related to the person who actually has something to celebrate. I am Dutch and my wife is foreign, she finds it so weird!
Holland vs the Netherlands explained…or not?
https://youtu.be/PBwZMYaJyrk
New Years eve is also celebrated with oliebollen yummy Heerlijk 😀
Nowadays you will see more and that women that do not really know each other, do the three kisses. This goes also for women and men.
I thinks it becomes a more polite thing to do without any feelings of friendship or love.
I never understood why three kisses, I know it started in the southern provinces Brabant and Limburg.
I am not really a kisser, I usually give hugs, but only to friends and relatives. I did kiss my Mother and Father, though.
These are great. Explains some of my family’s ways even though we are in the US. Loved reading them. I am half Dutch.
Let me be clear about something; the Dutch think they are very sociable and inclusive – but sadly we lack all empathy on that front. For most Dutch it is family first, second and last (and if you are very close, you are in luck, some have left room for their very best friends). Relationships on the whole tend to be extremely superficial and no conversation goes into any depth as we lack depth when it comes to it. And worse than that, we have not learned the art of social conversation, not learned how to introduce someone we are with to the stranger we are meeting. We are so full and ready to voice opinions, but only the safe ones, the real one is whispered behind everyone’s back.
Confrontation – best ignored because it really upsets a Dutch person and thus does not get you anywhere. We simply cannot handle it. And it is either met with an attack back at you, tears or whimpering away into a corner.
If you start working at a Dutch company, do not expect that anyone realises that you go home to an empty (be it initially a hotelroom – rented room – first flat) and that evenings and weekends can be very lonely – they are not interested in you, do not have the ability to put themselves in your shoes.
Friday after work drinks…. Dutch prefer to share a beer (paid by the boss) from a crate on the kitchen (or meeting room) table. One beer and off they go (if work finishes at 5 they are off at 5.30 on the dot. There is always someone waiting for them at home. And no evening can be skipped or missed. They are stuck in a rut. And if they tell you about the great weekend they had, you can be rest assured, they have had a few birthday parties to attend from relatives – great or small – Opa, Oma, Niece or Nephew, same family all sharing birthdays in the same month, well they will go again next week, not a problem. Same crappy food (crisps for the kids and little crackers with filet american and brie for the adults) – same non conversation about football practice, swimming diplomas, holiday plans, school results, local dramas of bins not having been collected etc. too dull to mention.
All this said, despite everything – it is a safe haven on the whole for kids to grow up in and kids are cherished by all family members – too many British men as well as women – have never held a baby, or spend time in the company of a child that they are not related to before they have their own. In Holland the ages mix better and people still look out for one another. Kids are one of the happiest in the world – so all in all – despite us being such boring b@st@rds – that is a major upshot. Even Dutch scum cannot be compared to UK scum, the Dutch variety is merely playing at it in comparison.
Which hellhole where you in. Absolutely not true for the the real Dutch.
What you missed are the strange rules about who takes the lead when dinner is served. To give you a first hint: if the group leader leads the start of dinner, it’s going to be a nice evening…
number 5 is the. old fashion way to celebrate birthdays. come and stay in my house when we have a party..
Raised Dutch in USA. No wonder we never had birthday cakes! Only cake at coffee time, oh wait we had coffee time 3 times a day. And yes all the old folks set in a big circle.
The person celebrating the birthday is the one serving cake and entertaining the circle of friends and family. And boy, did I get into trouble not being home at 10:00 am on my birthday to serve coffee and cake to my
in-laws who showed up uninvited and unannounced.
And that circle…don’t try to switch seats to talk to another person…it is not “musical chairs”! I was scolded for taking a guest’s spot so I could chat with another guest, AT MY OWN PARTY.
But that was 30 years ago…has that changed yet?
We used to burn our trees on new year eve decoration and all also bang our steel garbage lids for a healthy sound loved those four ties
Say congratulations to every family member when it’s someone’s birthday.
Eat sandwiches with knife & fork.
Show off English skills.
Complain about Morrocans.
Cycle with anything -kids, other bikes, planks, crates of beer.
Take the mickey out of Brits’ drinking habits (whilst drinking 39 small beers).
Drink Jenever
Not being able to use indicators.
Not being able to use roundabouts.
Whinging about the 11 steden tocht.
Using ” washandjes” instead of a washcloth! Still do after being in the U.S. for 50+ years!!
True. When I immigrated to Canada I would buy some in the Netherlands to take with me.
Strangest habit must be “Zwarte Piet”, and the fierceness with which the Dutch defend it.