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Dutchness is not as conspicuous as, saybeing Italian, Chinese or even German. Weseem to blend in easier than other people,which is fine, most of us like it that way.
But on game day during the EC or WCsoccer and on Queens day we like to showour colors. Or, color, because there is onlyone: orange. Since 1572 the Dutch orangewas a unifying symbol. As a matter of fact thenational flag at that time was orange-white-blue. The orange turned red later on and anorange banner was added. But it’s not thecolor what makes the Dutch, it’s the sheerunequivocal hospitality that symbolizes thisbeautiful event. There are many countrieswhere ‘national’ event are considered theirown and where visitors are tolerated but notincluded. Queens day is a party where ‘out-siders’ are traditionally the centerpiece of theparty. Maybe because we don’t show ourdeepest secretive cultural identity oftenenough that we feel the need to share, ormaybe, we want the whole world to becomeDutch and this is the easiest portal, whoknows. Bring your friend, neighbors andcountrymen, let’s party!
De BrugMerck toch hoe sterck
Queens day Reveals Orange & Dutchness
Queen Beatrix at the helm of the GroeneDraeck
Photo of H.M. the Queen, the Prince ofOrange, Princess Máxima and thePrincesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia andAriane, 2007
“De Brug” is a newsletter for and by members of the NAADV. De Brug • Queens day 2009 www.naadv.org
Queens day 2009All Ages,All Nations welcome
Sunday, April 26, 2009, 2:00-5:00 PM Swarthmore Community Center - 715 Harvard Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081
Elisabeth Boeynaems was the program chairfor the annual ‘new member borrel’. She heedsfrom Overpelt in Belgian North Limburg. Sheconsiders herself a true Belgian (and not justFlemish). She lived and studied for 2 years inNamur, Wallonia, the French speaking part ofBelgium, and resided in Brussels before mov-ing to Bucks County, PA about 4 years ago.
Anything particular you miss? Most Belgians truly enjoy to dress nicely for
a nice meal and a good conversation with familyand friends. Belgian cuisine shows many similar-ities to the French cuisine, however it does distin-guish itself from French cuisine by suppressing itsfinesse, considered to be too extreme. MostBelgians pay attention and take care of food asthey associate food and drink with shared pleas-ure, leading to conviviality and sociability. Theybecome an expression of the liking for the goodlife, the small pleasures of existence. Luckily,Belgian beers don’t need any further introductionanymore and Belgian beers, chocolates and otherdishes start to get more widely available in theDelaware valley and the US in general. Likewise, alot of Belgian women (and men) look forward tofashion shows and new collections by Dries VanNoten, Olivier Theyskens, Ann Demeulemeester,Martin Margiela, Olivier Strelli, Walter VanBeirendonck, Nicholas Ghesquiere and so on asdressing nicely is also considered to be one of thefiner things to enjoy in life. I also miss the Belgiansense of humor a lot and the tendency of Belgiansto not take themselves (and others) too seriously.
Why do you volunteer for the NAADV/Whatdo you do at the NAADV?
My first encounter with the NAADV datesback to about 4 years ago, when my husband andI were about the only new members to attend the“new member borrel” of that year. We then sort oflost touch with the organization, but about 2years ago I decided to attend events at a more reg-
Colophon“De Brug” is a newsletter for and by members of the Netherlands-AmericaAssociation of the Delaware Valley (NAADV).
Please send announcements, recipes, contributions and advertisements for the upcoming issue to Gerald van Wilgen, Editor, Phone: (856) 261-1673,Email: [email protected] or to Erwin van Zanten, Designer, Phone: (610) 969-8195, Email: [email protected]
And don’t forget to pay your dues and update us on any address changes, so that we can keep you up to date with what’s going on at the Naadv!Membership is:Student $20, Single $25, Family $35 and Patron $60 or more.
For more information look at our website at http://www.naadv.org. To join the electronic mailing list, please send a message to [email protected]
This newsletter was kindly printed and distributed by de Lage Landen.
ular basis because I wanted to stay more in touchwith speaking Dutch/Flemish as I am very muchimmersed in an all-American lifestyle in my dailylife. Since there are no Belgian clubs per se in thisarea, the NAADV seemed like a good alternative,especially since it stated on its website that it wasan association for people from the Netherlands,but also Flanders. Then, at last year’s annualboard meeting it was suggested that I would vol-unteer to take up the vacant position as a programchair, which I agreed to do. However, during thecourse of that year I was moved to a “board mem-ber at large position” because being a programchair is a very time consuming position and theboard felt that it was not per se “fair” (for lack of abetter word) to make 1 person responsible fororganizing all events marked on the NAADV’syearly calendar. The position is still vacant by theway and we’re always looking for volunteers tohelp organize events.
Is it fun for Belgians to attend a Dutch national fest?
It is definitely interesting because unlike theDutch, most Belgians would probably fall flat in
PresidentSicco Popma610 [email protected] PresidentRob Heerkens610 [email protected] SecretaryCisca Jansen610 [email protected] EmeritusSylvain van Gobes215 [email protected]
TreasurerStefan Lint610 [email protected] CommitteeRia Blaschek610 [email protected] Daniels610 [email protected] Alewijnse610 [email protected] Tripp215 [email protected]
Board member-at-LargeElisabeth [email protected] Brug Editor & DesignGerald van Wilgen856 [email protected] van Zanten610 [email protected] & FlyersShelly Rabuse610 [email protected] ComitteeDeborah Kowal610 [email protected]
Board Members
Elisabeth Boeynaems:
“Quite surprised by the degree of similarities”terms of traditional nationalism. Belgians aren’tparticularly nationalists and most of them, includ-ing myself, do not know the words to the Belgiannational anthem. This however doesn’t mean thatBelgians don’t have a sense of strong nationalpride. Most Belgians like the sense of great indi-vidualism that is a characteristical trait of Belgiumand the Belgians in combination with a certainstandard of living, the compact convenience andthe ease of going places in- and outside the coun-try, the social system and the health service.
There certainly are strong differencesbetween the Dutch and Belgians as Belgium ishistorically speaking a country dominated by themiddle class (and not farmers or sailors) whichexhibits a certain inclination towards gentle anar-chy, for example in traffic or towards tax author-ities. However on the positive side of these habits,Belgians don’t like hollow formalism, have a giftfor self-mockery and an instinct for freedom. I’venoticed that the cultural differences between theDutch and the Belgians are much more apparentin Belgium and the Netherlands, but not so muchabroad here in the States. I’ve actually been quitesurprised by the degree of similarities betweenthe Dutch and the Flemish Belgians for instance.
How do you celebrate the King’s birthday in Belgium?
Belgium celebrates its national holiday onJuly 21, the day on which Leopold van Saksen-Coburg-Gotha took the constitutional oath asfirst king of Belgium in 1830. On the nationalholiday, all members of the Belgian royal familyattend the “Te Deum”, in a cathedral in Brussels inthe morning. In the afternoon, a military paradeand civil parade takes place in front of the royalpalace in Brussels. Parties and ceremonies areheld in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders to cele-brate. That means bands play music, fairs areorganized and Belgians take it all in while drink-ing beer or enjoy some nice food.
QUEENS DAY in Swarthmore Community CenterProgram
Queens day is usually a pretty informaland easy going event.
Opening 2:00PMFrom 2:00-5:00 the rommelmarkt will be openfor business. There will also be a variety of chil-dren’s activities, like arts and crafts, traditionalgames like koekhappen en spijkerpoepen, andnon-tradtional Dutch games, like the pinata.This year we are introducing the Most DutchQuiz.
2:30-3:30 Pick up soccer.3:30-4:30 Ultimate frisbee.4:30 Last call for The Most Dutch Quiz entries.4:45 Awarding the most Dutch quiz winner.Awarding costume prize. Singing of TheWilhelmus.5:00 End
Food/DrinkWe ask participants to bring a snack or dessert,don’t go crazy. We provide drinks. We will beasking for a donation for cold beer and wine.
Childrens’ activities:This will be an ongoing event. Volunteers fromthe NAADV will assist in the arts and craftsprojects, and the different games, your childrenwill be under constant supervision by othermoms and dads.
Most Dutch QuizWhile you are reading this the Most DutchCommittee will be pondering which questionsto ask to decide who will be the most Dutchamong us. This not only means current eventsand sports, but also history and the arts.
For instance, which American Museums showthe work of Piet Mondriaan:a. The Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Philadelphia, PA.b. The National Gallery, Washington, DC.c. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.d. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.e. All of the above.
There will be prizes, and we keep an eye out forthose who whip out their Blackberry or iPhone.
RommelmarktThe rommelmarkt (flea market) is a staple ofthe annual Queens day celebration, albeit not atraditional one. In the olden days the people ofthe Netherlands would travel to the palace andparticipate in a parade along the steps of theentrance of ‘Paleis Soestdijk.’ After Beatrix wascrowned in 1980 she decided to keep the date,April 30th was her mother’s birthday (when isher’s??), but leave that tradition. From thatmoment on Queens day celebrations becamemore local and when people get together theystart selling food and drink, and before long thewhole thing morphed into a giant nationwideflea market with hundreds of millions of waresbeing exchanged (tax free). We would like tocontinue this tradition. We are therefor asking
our members to bring a few items they wouldlike to part with. The items should be in work-ing order, please don’t bring your junk. Theproceeds of the rommelmarkt will go towardsthe NAADV on behest of the costs of this event.
Soccer/Ultimate FrisbeeNeighboring Swarthmore College has a greatfield which begs to be played upon. Around2:30 we will play with whoever wants to forabout 45 minutes or so (Oranje against the restof the world). Then we will set up for ultimatefrisbee for our teens and young feeling adults.
Dress Code: OrangeThe Dutch are traditionally not big on formalwear and dress codes (have you ever seen aDutch prom?), as long as it orange and outra-geous. Best (most orange and most outrageous)costume wins a prize.
Singing of theWilhelmus:For those who don’t know, here’s the fulltext of the first stanza:Wilhelmus van Nassouweben ik, van Duitsen bloed,den vaderland getrouweblijf ik tot in den dood.Een Prinse van Oranjeben ik, vrij, onverveerd,den Koning van Hispanjeheb ik altijd geëerd.
Translation:William of Nassau am I of Dutch blood,loyal to the fatherland I will remain until I die.A prince of Orange, I am, free and fearless,the king of SpainI have always honored.
Spirited Singing of Wilhelmus
Publication of the Netherlands-America Associationof the Delaware Valley, Inc.
SECRETARIAT: 224 Bella Vista Road, Devon, PA 19333
FIRST CLASS MAILADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
New Web DesignThe NAADV website has been redesigned byShelly Rabuse. Visit www.naadv.org and see foryour self. A new feature is the “member tomember” page on which members are allowedto announce events, ask for school books, find ababy sitter, etc. This is not a page for commer-cial announcements. For advertisers we havespecial rates. This website is basically a commu-nity bill board, if you have pictures you want toshare or videos by all means, send them [email protected].
Upcoming EventsApril Koninginnedag
June Belgian Beer and Breughel Fest
June NAADV master Golf Tournament
July Pool party
August Rafting or Canoe Trip
Sept. Speelgroep picnic
Nov. Indonesische rijsttafel
Nov. Heritage Day
Dec. Sinterklaas
Dec. Holiday Borrel
Jan. New Member Welcome Reception
March Annual Meeting
Be a member, and you receive fliers at your current membership address forupcoming events and on the electronicmailing list from the NAADV.
Pay your dues on timeSome members tend to forget to write a checkto pay their annual membership dues.
We use this money to keep the participa-tion costs for members as low as possible, butwe can only do that if you pay your member-ship. The annual membership fee is $25 for asingle person and $35 for a family. If youhaven’t payed your dues for 2009, please sendyour check to: Cisca Jansen, 224 Bella VistaRoad, Devon, PA 19333.
It will be greatly appreciated!
