A very Dutch New Year

A chronological landmark is a popularly accepted occasion around which to reflect on the experiences of the past in regard to how they may contribute to a more hopeful future. In England this often comprises a quick reference to superstition or empty platitudes before moving swiftly to intoxication and random acts of aggression in a bid to forget how bad the previous year has been. But was it really all that negative? Well, we poisoned the Gulf of Mexico, elected ourselves under a right wing coalition, and began to reinstate the class system. But what do I know?

More to the point, is this behaviour unique to England or are we all, as members of the European Union, actually more uniform than we assume? Depending on how far I want to take my integration into Dutchness, it might be worth me generating some insight into how my fellow cheese lovers regard the significant events of the past year. I remember that in July the Dutch national football team reached the World Cup final for the first time since 1978, in October Soul legend Solomon Burke died at Schiphol Airport, and Dutch politics was back at the craps table this summer, with unsettling results.

But then maybe I’m off the mark. Maybe the Dutch prefer the Toppers to Soul music; maybe they realize that football isn’t the all-consuming wheel of fortune that the English are so fervent to bet their sanity on; maybe they see politics as more effective in immediate terms, such as becoming the change you want to see in the world. Maybe.

Or maybe, like me, they’re disaffected but not uninvolved. When I quizzed my colleagues and friends, I found that 2010 had been a turbulent year, with levity and pathos in equal doses. But unlike me, they voted, they read the newspapers, they gathered on Museumplein and saw Nigel de Jong kick Xabi Alonso, they made jokes about the marriage of Wesley Sneijder and Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, and they mourned the death of a different artistic legend in Harry Mulisch. This latter event lowered the curtain on the Netherlands’ ‘Big Three’ of literature and, as we ride the wheel into a new decade, perhaps indicates the need for a new intellectually creative inspiration for the country and its people. In addition to this list, further episodes remaining in Dutch memory are the search for Joran van der Sloot in Peru over murder allegations, and a recent spate of investigations into allegations of child abuse concerning the church in the Netherlands. Not the best news with which to end a year, but we always hope to build on the mistakes of the past in order to realise a better future.

Perhaps it’s due to our shared naval heritage that I wasn’t far off with two major events this year – almost everyone I interrogated referred to the Dutch team’s performance in the World Cup and also to the mid-year political upheaval. Both instances share a dual identity: at once a cause for celebration and for concern. They remind us of what is possible on our best days and also serve as a warning against complacency in the face of responsibility. More than this, though, they encourage us to learn our lessons and take our steps, because tomorrow – if you’re reading this right now – is another year.