Happy New Year!
January 1, 2011 22 Comments
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Happy New Year! I hope it will be a fantastic year for everyone.
Book wise, if it’s anything like last year, there will be another abundance of great new books and large piles on the unread-books shelf.
In the Netherlands, we celebrate New Year with fireworks – at exactly 12 midnight, people go outside and light their fireworks. The typical smell of gunsmoke will be lingering in the air for hours. Smog may form in the bigger cities. Yes, it’s that big a thing!
Every year, people spend huge amounts of money on fireworks. There is only a short time frame in which fireworks are allowed to be lit (31 December from 10am to 2am the next day; the rest of the year the use of fireworks is banned).
For the Dutch, oliebollen are standard fare at New Year (singular: oliebol, meaning “oil ball”). We eat them both before and after the special day. They are deep-fried dough balls, often with currants, and covered with powdered sugar.
The oliebollen from the baker that was 16th best in the Netherlands were just so-so, says my family (I didn’t try them). Luckily, my mother was the first customer that day and didn’t have to queue up for hours, as often happens at the oliebollen-bakers that are ranked high in the top-100!
Enjoy these oliebollen! Happy new year!
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Happy new year!
Happy 2011, Judith!
Happy New Year Judith!
I’m thrilled we connected this year and hope to get to know you more in 2011 – have a wonderful new years weekend.
Happy New Yea, Judith! I love the sound of those oliebollen – yum!
Wishing you a wonderful 2011 🙂
A great post about your traditions. We also light firework, but we have a longer time span so young boys often begin around Christmas as they have to use it all before Jan 5th! ;D
Happy New Year to you!
Happy New Year and Happy Reading.
Happy New Year Judith — the oliebollen look yummy.
Happy new year Judith.
That Oliebollen looks delicious.
Fireworks are almost entirely illegal here in California due to fire hazards. We’re really a desert state most of the year and grass fires are common.
But allowing them to be legal for 12 hours on New Year’s sounds like a great idea to me. We’d probably have to include the 4th of July as well.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year! I’ve never had oliebollen, will have to hit up the Dutch store for some next year!
Hope you had a good one.
Those cake things look delicious.
Happy New Years my dear- looking forward to a great year..
🙂
In NSW, Australia fireworks are illegal. Canberra is the only state where they are legal (and that is where all the politicians live – funny how so much more is legal there than anywhere else!)
So we have to rely on local displays and of course, the big fireworks show on the harbour. That is not to say that people don’t let off fireworks… they do … but they aren’t legally allowed to.
I like the idea of it being legal on NYE.
It makes sense just to have organised fireworks, I think, Rachel. I don’t like the idea of people having their own fireworks. We’ve had lots of problems with young people throwing fireworks at people in the past (like in shopping areas or people cycling by), although now there are quite hefty fines and punishments for doing so.
really? that is so nasty! … I think we had more of a problem with idiots blowing their hands off. Apparently letting go of a firework after you light it is lost on some. I call that natural selection 😉 ha!
Natural selection, indeed, Rachel. Here someone died when their father and uncle were lighting some illegal fireworks. A part of the fireworks hit him. Yes, illegal fireworks are another problem, as the legal ones are just not cool enough – the bangs aren’t loud enough.
Happy New Year to you as well! I received your postcard in the mail – thank you!! I think I will definitely taste-test those oliebollen!
Hey, Coffee! Thanks for letting me know you got the postcard. Hope you like it. 🙂
Those look SO good. Now I am hungry! Happy New Year, Judith! I hope your 2011 is fantastic!
Same to you, Carin. Have a wonderful 2011.
Oh man I love ollibollen! I wish I had some this year 🙂 Happy New Year to you!
Thanks, Amy. Same to you!