Almost everywhere in the world today, we use the Gregorian calendar. It has 365 days a year, with the occasional leap year that is determined as follows: Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the year 2000 is.1 This calculation of the leap years make sure that the average … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Bloeimaand
12 May 2014 by Leave a Comment
Bloeimaand (literally: bloom month) is the old word for May. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Grasmaand
7 April 2014 by Leave a Comment
Grasmaand literally means "grass month" and is the old word for April. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Lentemaand
3 March 2014 by Leave a Comment
Lentemaand literally means 'Spring month' and is the old word for March. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Sprokkelmaand
3 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Sprokkelmaand is the old word for February. Literally, it means "wood gathering month." … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Louwmaand
6 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
Louwmaand is the old name for January. The origin of the word louw is unknown. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Nieuwjaar
30 December 2013 by 2 Comments
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
4 December 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
