Last year we discussed many topics in relation to the Dutch language, culture and history and our home town Utrecht:

• Utregs: Als ik boven op de dom sta, the unofficial anthem

• St. Maarten: The legendary patron saint of Utrecht returns in the red and white colors of the city’s coat of arms, on many buildings, and public celebrations.

• Dutch-French: Dutch is full of French words, but many people do not know the influence of Middle Dutch on French (boulevard, mannequin, café, bont, colbert, etc.).

• When Napoleon visited his younger brother Louis Napoleon, the first king of the Netherlands, in Utrecht, an enthusiastic crowd stopped him at the Oude Gracht. Napoleon from his horse to the crowd: «Cela suffit, laissez-moi passez, place, place».  Mathieu did a great impersonation of the impatient emperor.

• Stopwoorden (filler words): Why do so many people suddenly say ‘oprecht’ (sincerely) nowadays, when this is often not what they literally mean? Why do we use such words?

• Annie MG Schmidt: When reading to each other the first chapters of ‘Pluk van de Petteflet’, a classic childrens’ book, you could see the child in everyone.

• Sinterklaas, St. Nicolas & Santa Claus: holy men

• The Dutch mystical relation with water (infrastructure)

• Past tense completed: Voltooid Verleden tijd