How Can We Help?

The Netherlands has many beliefs that are considered questionable in other parts of the world. The most prominent of these is the legality of marijuana. There are, however, some less known but no less debatable problems, including abortion, prostitution, gay marriages, and assisted suicide.
The latter is entirely legal in the Netherlands, with only restrictions including careful revision of possible other solutions, and, in the case of minors, consultation with parents or guardians.
Because this was a choice made quite intentionally by the Dutch government, and because some may agree with this solution, there is little that can be done to help. The most one can do to save these lives that are given so freely is to work on an individual basis, helping those considering this alternative to be very careful when taking this route.

Source(s): http://www.netherlands-embassy.org.vn/about_the/social_issues

A Brief History and Briefer Economy

The Netherlands has heavy Germanic roots in everything from language to customs. This is easily excusable, as Germanic tribes have inhabited that small area for more than 2600 years.
The Netherlands then passed hands and southern Netherlands became a part of the Roman Empire. Roughly three centuries later, the Franks took over. Finally, in 1555 Spain takes the Netherlands.
It was twenty years later when Willem van Oranje made his last name the national color. The rebellion began in 1568, led by the heroic van Oranje. However, in another two hundred years, or so, France made a claim and the Netherlands, once again, became just another puppet to a European power. In 1813 the Netherlands finally became its own country, although Germany takes occupation in 1940, though they remain in power only a few short years. The Netherlands once again claimed its independence, and it has remained a monarchy with a complex government of “houses”.

The Netherlands has been a huge power in Europe, and, after a slight economic drop during the horrific World War Two, in which the Netherlands was affected profoundly, it has risen up and has become a central industrial country. Agriculture is only a small portion of Dutch income, but is a major factor in its exports. The Netherlands also has to rely heavily on imports for mineral resources, as its barrenness does not aid its economic position.

Source(s):

http://www.electionworld.org/history/netherlands.htm

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-35869/The-Netherlands

Why Biking?

The Netherlands is almost entirely under sea level, using its tremendous dykes to hold back the furious waters of the North Sea. Its name, “nether lands” is explained when one realizes how incredibly flat it is. This makes biking a wonderful, pollution-free mode of transportation. Bike paths are at least as common as roads in the Netherlands, and there are severe penalties when an automobile hits a bike. There are few restrictions for bikes - nearly nobody over the age of four wears a helmet (Dutch children begin biking at around three), but riding without bike lights once the street lamps are on is completely illegal.
The Netherlands also has a few small islands wrapping around its west coast, which are much less popular than the mainland, having little to offer that the rest of the Netherlands does not have in abundance.

The Netherlands has some natural gas deposits, and is extremely well known for its dairy products and flowers. It has potential as well, for building a great energy resource from wind power, as it is right on the edge of the gusty North Sea and is swarming with windmills.

Source(s): Memory and Experience

Samenleving

Above: a copy of the Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Rhine, the Waal, and the Meuse (or Maas) rivers separate the Netherlands effectively into two parts, which, until recently, segregated the Catholics and the Protestants, which remain the two most common religions of the country.

The Dutch are a very welcoming, sharing community. They believe in working to live, not living to work. Extravagance is viewed with contempt. People of the Netherlands have a strong faith in the idea of “samenleving”, or “living together”. This means everyone lives and cares for the society as a whole, undisrupted by personal desires.
This should not be mistaken to mean that the Dutch have no tolerance for diversity. On the contrary, they have a very high tolerance, but merely expect everyone to remain within their own circle and not compel anyone to agree with them.
The Netherlands is well-known for her amazing artists. Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Leyster, Escher, and Vermeer represent a tiny portion of amazing Dutch art. There are several wonderful art museums in Den Haag and Amsterdam, including the Rijksmusuem and the Mauritshuis, which houses the classic “Girl with a Pearl Earring”.
One of the most inexplicable yet enjoyable museums that can be found in The Hague is Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature replica of the Netherlands, including everything from famous buildings, to a tiny figurine of the queen, to gas stations. For a small fee, one can pass through, admiring “Holland in miniature”.

Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands#Geography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Netherlands Netherlands - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!) Sheryl Buckland

Keukenhof: a fiesta of flowers!

To the left: a flower sculpture from the annual flower parade

The Netherlands proclaims its love of its flowers in the amazing park located in Den Haag, called Keukenhof.This park is a humongous flower garden, sporting (depending on the season) tulips, daffodils, lilies, gerberas, freesias, hyacinths, chrysanthemums, irises, roses, lathrus, alstroemeria, lasanthus, saintpaulia, bouvardia, kalanchoe, carnations, asters, zantedeschia, limonium, hortensia, and many others. One can enjoy flower shows, take part in workshops and other activities, or simply stroll through the enchanting gardens admiring the delicate petals and the intricate leaves. Although Keukenhof may be thought to be difficult to enjoy under a difficult age, the gardens work hard to provide fun to all ages. For children, they have “a large playground with jungle gyms, an animal paddock, a maze and a giant chess board. There is also a Bollebozen route. In the accompanying Bollebozen book the children find ten exciting assignments that are educational as well!” (The translation was altered for grammar’s sake!)

Source(s): http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html

Celebrating Dutch

Find out about Dutch holidays at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Netherlands!

The two holidays that are especially Dutch are Koninginnedag and Sinterklaas. On Koninginnedag, the ban on street selling and performing without permits is lifted, and the streets are lined with sellers and performers. On this one day, everyone wears bright, vivid orange, often buying festive hats or other orange paraphernalia to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.

Sinterklaas is basically the Dutch Christmas. Although they do still have “Kerstmis”, it was once described by a friend of mine as a “grown-up holiday”. All the fun and presents are given on the evening of the fifth of December by Sinterklaas (Saint Klaas). He takes a steamboat from Spain to the Netherlands several days early, and then, on the special night, he rides his white horse, Amerigo, to each house, surrounded by his dark Zwarte Pieten. Each child has left out a shoe to be filled with pepernoten (mini gingersnaps), and the first letter of their name in chocolate, as well as whatever other treats he has in store. If the child has not been good, however, he is left either a stick in his shoe to be whipped with, or he is taken away in Sinterklaas’s sack to become a Zwarte Piet.