ORANGE TIDE: A Sea of Dutch in Vancouver
August 31, 2024 was a big day in the life of Dutchies on the south coast of British Columbia. Orange Tide flooded the Granville Street pedestrian mall for the 2nd Annual festival of everything Dutch. It was a haven of exhibits, vendors, entertainment and food surrounded by Dutch flags, Dutch conversations and the colour orange was everywhere to be seen. [Why orange? That is a whole other story but it relates to a guy named Willem of Orange who many Dutch consider to be a hero of sorts.]
This event is particularly significant because it is only the 2nd of its kind ever in the history of British Columbia. The first was last year. Of course the question “Why only recently?” pops up in everyone’s mind, and the time is right for me to expose the answer:
Most Dutch people came to Canada shortly after World War II. Much of the Netherlands had been bombed by the Germans and people were shattered and scattered, scared and shaken. During the war some people supported the Nazi regime, others did not. Some people provided shelter to Jewish people, others did not. Some families were torn apart, others were not.
After the war, trust disseminated and Dutch people became isolated within their own country, and scared to speak. Rumours, suspicion, finger-pointing, gossip, anger, fear, and accusations made life very difficult for everyone. The rebuilding of infrastructure was slow and getting the economy to grow was challenging. Life was very tough in Nederlands.
My maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents were from opposite poles on the war issue; as a result, the relationship between my parents was not embraced and, according to my mom, the strain, stress and anxiety became too much for them. Top that off with lack of suitable housing for our family of four, and low income for simple unskilled or even skilled workers, my dad decided the right thing to do was to accept an invitation to start a new life in Canada. Of course my mom did not want to go, but as a wife and a mother she felt compelled to agree. Although it took some time for her to feel good about the decision, in the end she was happy that the resettlement process became less and less hard over the years. She did become a happy Canadian. But I digress.
Nevertheless, all of this still leads me to wonder why almost every other cultural group that has settled in Canada, joyously and regularly celebrate their culture, their roots, their history. The Dutch up to now, have not.
When my parents and my older brother and I arrived in Canada in 1957, we were greeted by already settled Dutchies who helped us secure housing and learn about being a newcomer to a new Land. We were told the best thing to do is to assimilate — don’t speak Dutch and don’t do anything Dutch; learn English quickly, get rid of your accent, and never talk about the war. We were now in Canada and that ended our Dutch-ness.
Yet we all have noticed over the years, that most other cultural groups in Canada proudly celebrate and share the joy and excitement of many things that relate to their culture year after year, and often several times throughout the year. So when I asked, and yes I asked many times, why Dutch people don’t celebrate anything Dutch while in Canada, the standard answer was that we are quiet and reserved people; we don’t really have celebratory occasions except Saint Nicholas Day and New Year’s Eve which are exclusively family days.
Over the years, my siblings and I began to notice that the Dutch in the Netherlands actually do celebrate a lot of things and in big fashion. They have huge celebrations around sporting events and King’s Day for example. The sea of orange is amazing! Liberation Day, the Blooming of the flowers (tulips), performing arts festivals, Canal Festivals, Red Head Day, Market Days, GLOW Festival, Fireworks Festivals, parades and more.
My older brother’s, and my, first homeland is clearly not a dead-beat country; yet, growing up in Canada, we (including our Canadian-born sister and brother) knew next to nothing about our dutch-ness!
Turns out a lot of Dutch immigrants who came to Canada in the sixties and seventies adopted the same ‘keep it in house’ attitude.
Well, here we are, generations later and the offspring of Dutchies are at the plate to turn things around. This event in Vancouver was fabulous. Dutchness filled the three block stretch of Granville Street giving me a sense of excitement, cultural pride and a renewed sense of optimism, as we take our place in the massive multicultural spectrum called Canada … I knew we could do this and I am thankful to everyone who worked so hard to break the internal barriers so more Dutchies can get on with showing and sharing their true colours as a supplement to being proud Canadians!
Hup Hup! Proost!
No comments:
Post a Comment