Dutch term – Bloeimaand

Bloeimaand (literally: bloom month) is the old word for May. … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Grasmaand

Grasmaand literally means "grass month" and is the old word for April. … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Lentemaand

Lentemaand literally means 'Spring month' and is the old word for March. … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Sprokkelmaand

Sprokkelmaand is the old word for February. Literally, it means "wood gathering month." … [Read more...]

Dutch term: Louwmaand

Louwmaand is the old name for January. The origin of the word louw is unknown. … [Read more...]

Dutch term: Nieuwjaar

The term Nieuwjaar means 'new year.' If you want to wish people in the Netherlands 'Happy new year,' you say 'Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!' The new year did not always start on January 1st. During the French occupation (1795-1815), the year started on 22 September. During the Middle Ages, some people used the Christmas style while others used the Eastern style calendar, named after the day that was considered the first day of the year. The Eastern calendar is particularly cumbersome since the timing … [Read more...]

Quick tip: Mind the dates

In the Netherlands (and most of the rest of the world), dates are routinely written as dd-mm-yyyy so 5-4-2013 means 5 April, not May 4 as it would be in the US. This can easily lead to mistakes. To avoid confusion, just use the full name of the month: 5 April 2013. That way, everybody will understand what you mean. … [Read more...]