My ‘Quirky Dutch Summer event’ – a series of inspirational posts
in English and Dutch – starts June 12. Read all about it here.
Mijn ‘Quirky Dutch Summer’ event – een serie inspirerende posts
in het Engels én Nederlands – start op 12 Juni. Lees meer hier.
My country is slowly turning orange over the past few days…
… and that has everything to do with the upcoming European
Football Championships.
Shannon Wilson McAllister is a travel writer who lives in the ‘Oud Zuid’
(Old South) neighborhood of Amsterdam. She writes for ‘Amsterdam Travel‘
about Amsterdam and typical Dutch habits. Here’s her explanation:
“The first time I saw the Dutch national soccer team playing in the World Cup,
I wondered — as many people do — “What’s the deal with all the fans
wearing orange?” The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue –
there’s no orange at all. So what’s the Netherlands’ relationship (make that
borderline obsession) with the color orange? The answer: Orange is the color
of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty – the House of
Oranje-Nassau – dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange).
But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it
symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.”
~Shannon McAllister ~
..
This is what our streets will look like when the Dutch soccer team wins…
… but it’s too early to cheer yet. The European championship tournament
starts on June 8. On June 9 Holland will play the first match.
Still… ‘orange fever’ is all around and although I like to think that it does not
affect me, it appears that nobody is immune to this particular ‘Dutch disease.’
Not even the honeysuckle…
De kamperfoelie
loopt op de zaken vooruit en juicht uitbundig |
the Honeysuckle is
forging ahead too quickly with zestful cheering |
This haiku was written for ‘Haiku my Heart’.
Visit Recuarda Mi Corazon if you want to read more haiku.
I have one last picture for you…
In December 2011 I wrote a haiku about the honeysuckle too.
(right here, in this post) It’s fun to compare the photos with each other…
look what has happened in six Months… (click to enlarge)
I hope you all have a colourful weekend and – for whatever reason: Cheer!
Anthony North says
Nice haiku, and good luck with the football.
Sandra says
Leuk hè, die oranje gekte in NL! Ze draven weer lekker door met alles wat er te koop is. En nu ik jouw kamperfoelie zie, ben ik blij dat ik in mijn tuin ook een beetje oranje heb…Ik heb ook zo’n bos oranje bloemen over mijn schutting! (Had alleen de link met het EK nog niet gelegd…) Straks een Haiku over al die oranje bloemetjes die uitgevallen zijn en de grond eronder sieren? 😉
Cathy says
Wonderful post. Can feel the excitement in our photos and I can almost smell the honeysuckle. Our honeysuckle here has bloomed and gone. I do miss it but then it gives me hope for next spring!! Wishing you well! Cathy
Lindsay Drya says
Oh wow wat is de kamperfoelie mooi geworden! Hehe ik dacht al zoiets, dat de kampioenschappen er weer aan kwamen, ik heb al statusjes hierover zien voorbij komen op Facebook. 🙂 Het is wel leuk om te zien, al dat oranje! Fijn weekend. ^^
Carol says
Wonderful haiku ~ have fun celebrating ~~ thanks, namaste, ^_^
Magical Mystical Teacher says
Excitement in the air makes both people and honeysuckle bloom!
Too Early for Crows
Peg Englishman says
Hi Marit,
I love how you tied everything together. I especially love zestful cheering………..such wonderful rich words!
Peg Englishman says
p.s. love love love the orange!
rebecca says
oh marit this post is pure eye candy, i LOVe orange! this is a riot of orange and enthusiasm.
i can hear the “zestful cheering” from here!
somepinkflowers says
yes
yes
you are so right!
honeysuckle
Does give itself away
to
Zestful Cheering!
{{ clever you to notice }}
Libby says
Go orange! Thanks for explaining about the orange! Cool how people drape everything in orange! It would be fun there 🙂
joanne says
Here in Boston, my honeysuckle looks, and probably smells, just like yours!
And the colorful photos are wonderful….why do you think the honeysuckle are ‘forging ahead too quickly’?
Dawn Elliott says
I love events that get so many people excited!
Honeysuckle is the best – beautiful!
Julie Tucker-Wolek says
Loving the haiku and loveeee the pics!!!
Lea says
Hello dear friend, I am imagining your beautiful streets turning golden… like your honeysuckle! I love the winter and summer cheering pom-pom pics side by side! GO HOLLAND!
Ramesh Sood says
And trust me Marit..my home in India will have all the noise of cheers of fans..ah, how my Son loves to watch football…I have also started enjoying… well..all the best and good luck…
Leo says
Wow.. even the honeysuckle is cheering for the Dutch.. one of the favorites to lift the trophy I think.. but in the Group of Death with the Germans and Portuguese and the unpredictable Danes.. good luck to them 🙂
Cheryl's Excellent Adventure says
Orange is my favourite colour so naturally I love your photos today. I love honeysuckle too. Your haiku is marvelous.
spadoman says
I love the honeysuckle comparison photos. Looks wonderful all flowery, but I also gaze into the twisted branches of trees and shrubs and hope that their arteries aren’t like mine. Good luck to Holland in the World Cup. That is the only soccer, (futbol), tournament i watch, and then, I only watch the semi and ultra finals.
We still need to talk about that trade. But it must wait as I am so busy. Thank you for being so kind at my place.
Peace
phinner says
my co-worker/friend Paul is a huge European football fan!!! I wonder who he’s rooting for? (I just asked, Red Fury, heh!)
the honeysuckle is just beautiful! isn’t nature amazing!!!
Karen says
Love your haiku!
irrene says
i am a huge soccer fan. my teams are the galaxy of los angeles and usa but a good game is a good game and one of my best friend is dutch. thus, i love orange as well. fun haiku today.
Fran aka Redondowriter says
So colorful and delightful and I learned information I did not know before thanks to your story. Oranje. Like the sound of that compared to orange.
Meri says
I love the idea of honeysuckle cheering for the Dutch football team.
Rachel@GeekUnorthodox says
What fun and what a fun and cheerful haiku!
derweduwen Marleen says
Betere voetbalfans dan de Nederlandse zijn er wellicht niet.
Je kamperfoelie doet ook echt zijn best om te supporteren.
Jenneke says
Marit, wat heb je weer een originele blogpost gemaakt!
De oranjekoorts heeft mij nog niet te pakken maar ik hoop wel dat het snel gaat komen! Verheug me altijd op deze toernooien, de sfeer is dan overal zo gezellig en eensgezind!
Verheug me ook op jouw Quirky Dutch Summer, heb je badge al op m’n blog gezet!
XXXJenneke
Grace says
I like the zestful cheering ~ Your picture are indeed colourful ~
Caatje says
Oranjekoorts is aan mij totaal niet besteed, maar de haiku is leuk en de kamperfoelie mooi. 😉
Jeanet says
Wat een leuke post Marit! Gekke hollanders, maar wel mooi al dat oranje!Je kamperfoelie is prachtig, net als je haiku…daar zal het in ieder geval niet aan liggen 😉
Thinkie says
zelfs ons flatgebouw heeft eraan moeten geloven, niet alleen op balkons van mensen maar ook over het parkeerdek naar een ander flatgebouw hangen vlaggetjes. zucht… ik ga morgen naar de opera 😉
priti.lisa says
Thanks for sharing the link…it was fun to compare the 2 beautiful haiku♥