Tartan of Holland: Dutch wearing kilts?
Greetings from the Netherlands!
though born in Holland and proud of that, Scotland feels like a dear home country as well, as it does for many Dutch. I paid many visits, made friends, the people's character and hospitality is of a quality that the Dutch can learn quite a lot from. The tolerance for which Holland is known for, is alas often just a flavor of indifference. As you may know, in 2005 some very eager Dutch Scotland-enthusiasts have managed to realize a Tartan of Holland. They decided to go about it all legal and proper; it was designed bij Dr. David Wishart and officially registered. I think it was a splendid job and I am proud of the result.
Here in Holland the name of Orange enjoys mixed emotions. The role of William of Orange in England and especially Ireland was controversial, to say the least. To put it bluntly: he was responsible for a bloodbath and should rather be remembered in a hall of war criminals instead of in a hall of fame. In that light I and many others consider the Orange marches in Northern Ireland a provocation that could be dispensed with.
Be as it may, the colour of Orange is also linked to our present Royal family, which in my view does a splendid job. There are Dutch wanting to get rid of them altogether, mainly because of cost of maintenance, for which there seems little return. But I am dead against that, for without them Holland would be a mere province and docile marketplace for big economic entities like neighbouring Germany or the USA. I think the Royal family's return in international goodwill is underestimated. Tradition and history are things to be treasured and not to be red striped by cold economists. So I am proud of our red, white and blue and also our orange, one cannot hold the present Royals accountable for actions far away in the past. On our Queen's Day (on April 30th, really the birthday of the deceased Queen Mum Juliana, which daughter Beatrix decided to honour, for hers is January the 31st) I am coloured more orange than the average Dutchman. Visit Amsterdam or The Hague on 30th of April, you will see what I mean!
The University of St Andrews has designed a new tartan after growing demand for a specific kilt for Holland.
Dr David Wishart designed a tartan for the Dutch to wear at Scottish events like the annual Dutch Whisky Festival. The tartan took five months to design and has been officially registered by the Scottish Tartans Authority.
It combines the colours of the Netherlands national flag - red, white and blue - with orange, representing the Royal House of Orange. The Tartan of Holland was unveiled on Saturday by the first Dutchmen to wear the new tartan.
Crescens Akkermans and his brother Pierre traveled from Amsterdam to collect their new kilt outfits. They include specially designed black fur sporrans and belts incorporating the lion rampant of the Netherlands.
Growing support
The tartan has been officially registered under the International Tartan Index of the Scottish Tartans Authority, which registers several hundred new tartans every year. The first consignment of kilts and scarves produced in Galashiels has already been pre-sold in the Netherlands, with another batch being reordered.
Dr Wishart said there was growing support for Holland to have its own tartan. "About 5,000 whisky lovers attend the Dutch Whisky Festival in Leiden each November and many wear kilts for the occasion," he said.
"However, there was no really suitable tartan for the whisky lovers of Holland until now." Some keen Dutch enthusiasts therefore "borrowed" a Scottish family link as an excuse to wear their tartan, he added.
A Dutch MacKay tartan was created to honour Baron Aeneas Mackay, prime minister of the Netherlands 1888-91, the great grandfather of the present chief of the MacKays. "The Netherlands, our closest neighbour on continental Europe, now has its own wholly original tartan," Dr Wishart said.
The tartan was designed - under the advice of kilt-makers - using a computer-based design programme, and the first batch was manufactured last week at Lochcarron's Nether Mill in Galashiels. Tartan traditionalists perhaps unhappy at the move should note the strong trading history between Scotland and Holland, Dr Wishart said. "The Tartan of Holland will surely link our two proud and historic nations more closely," he added.
( de oranje, blanje, blue) are symbolic colors of The Netherlands.
Whenever a ship sales into a harbor somewhere in this big world, delivering goods for the consumer, it always seem to attract Dutch people to it. (Hey, another Dutch ship in the harbor). Such a scene is regularly found in the Maritimes, be it in Halifax, Nova Scotia or in Saint John, New Brunswick, or in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Holland America Line used to have their ships all carry the Dutch flag. (Meaning that it is registered in that country). For many years, the Dutch Flag has been flying in just about every state of the United States of America, but it is not flying the Red, White and Blue to indicate that there are Dutch people living, or the Dutch Queen is visiting there. I am not sure who started this trend, but it seems to have millions of business owners in America (and also in Canada) thrilled with the idea of flying a Dutch flag with the words “Welcome” or “Open” on it to attract their customers.
One Dutch immigrant in PEI however, thought of it as not being the proper thing to do. Lets face it, you do this to a Canadian or American flag, and you are liable to end up in a jail. She approached the legislative assembly of PEI, and they indeed agreed with her point of view. This does not mean that all the red, white and blue “Welcome” or “Open” flags are gone from the Island. However, I have since seen many other types of “Welcome” and “Open” flags on the Island. Flags that carry lots of attractive color, but do not represent any ones former country of birth.
Recently, my wife and I visited a local Gallery in Fredericton, NB.
Now that’s what I call people power. (And a sensitive Canadian business owner, who is caring enough about the thought of others).
