The orange color that's present throughout much of Dutch culture is a nod to the royal family, which is made up of members of the House of Orange. The dynasty dates back to 1544 when William of Orange inherited the estate and title at the age of 11.
It is said that soldiers fighting for Dutch independence wore the colour orange into battle and, in fact, the very first iteration of the Dutch flag sported an orange stripe instead of red.
The Origins of the Netherlands Flag
However, when the French invaded the Netherlands in the late 18th century, they banned the use of the color orange. As a result, the Dutch changed their flag to the current red, white, and blue design, which has remained unchanged to this day.
In an attempt to prevent a rebellion, in 1784 the Estates of Holland even banned the wearing of orange. Incidentally, the growth of Orange as an ideological force was not confined to the Netherlands but was international.
On 29 April 1942, the Nazis introduced another humiliating measure that concerned the Dutch Jews. From 3 May onwards, they would have to start wearing a badge on their clothes: a six-pointed yellow Star of David with the word 'Jew' in the middle. The badge made it possible to identify people in the street as Jews.
The word Holland literally meant “wood-land” in Old English and originally referred to people from the northern region of the Netherlands. Over time, Holland, among English speakers, came to apply to the entire country, though it only refers to two provinces—the coastal North and South Holland—in the Netherlands today.
Scientists attribute this to a diet that is rich in milk and meat. The Dutch have grown so quickly in a short period of time that most of the growth is attributed to their changing environment. They are one of the world's largest producers and consumers of cheese and milk.
The green represents the Catholics, orange represents the Protestants, white represents the “peace” between the groups. Orange is the color of the Protestants, and Protestants don't celebrate the saints. Therefore they don't celebrate St. Patrick's day.
The difference between Holland and Netherlands is the former is a province, while the later is the name of the entire country. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815 (and Belgium seceded from it in 1830—another fun fact I didn't know).
The Netherlands consists of 12 provinces but many people use “Holland” when talking about the Netherlands. The two provinces of Noord- and Zuid-Holland together are Holland. The 12 provinces together are the Netherlands. Holland is often used when all of the Netherlands is meant.
Naturally water resistant, they protected feet from the wet Dutch climate, and enabled their wearer to move across sodden ground with ease. Clogs continued to be worn by agricultural workers well into the 20th century, as their sturdiness guarded against injury.
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders) and Suriname. Dutch is also an official language of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten.
The government has started to rebrand the country as the Netherlands to enhance its image in the face of global competition. For decades, the Dutch government used “Holland” and “the Netherlands” interchangeably to describe the country known for its iconic canals, tulip fields and windmills.
The Dutch began using a red, white, and blue horizontally striped flag in the mid-17th century, the red being a substitution for the original orange stripe. This flag became the inspiration for the vertically striped French Tricolor after the French Revolution in 1789.
Through combined efforts in transportation, energy and industry, the Netherlands' sustainable infrastructure serves to reduce the country's carbon footprint. In addition, Holland provides companies with renewable resources and people with an eco-friendly place to live.
The name “orange” was given to the color in the 16th century — it was called “saffron” or “yellow-red” previously. When Portuguese merchants brought orange trees to Europe from Asia in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the citrus fruit's name was adopted for the general color.
In the Dutch language, the Dutch refer to themselves as Nederlanders.
In Dutch, the country is called Nederland, so this can sometimes get translated as just Netherlands in English. However, according to the Dutch government, the official name of the country is the Netherlands - taken from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in Dutch.
Dutch government ditches Holland to rebrand as the Netherlands.
The orange shirt is thus used as a symbol of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children that the residential school system enforced.
There was a time when wearing a shamrock, or any green, was considered an insignia of the rebellion, and you were hanged for high treason. The British so feared the ethnic identity of the Irish that they would murder citizens under their rule for wearing the ethnic color.
It's up to you. Wearing green on St. Patrick's Day is arguably more traditional. Some Protestants looking to celebrate the Patron Saint along with their heritage may choose to wear orange.
Dutch people are the tallest people in the world. They have an average height of 175.62 cm (5 feet 7.96 inches).
* Dutch men are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of 182.5cm. Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of 170cm. * The top four tallest countries for men are the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Latvia.
Ever wondered where the tallest men and women live in the world? Well, the answer is Netherlands. Also called a land of giants, the Netherlands is home to men with an average height of a Dutch man is 182.5 cm (about 6 feet).