Archive for December, 2009
Making Sense Of Your Dutch Surname
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
If you know your surname is Dutch, then it is still very possible that you will find no match at all in Dutch online databases. This of course does not necessarily mean that your ancestors did not come from the Netherlands after all. A more plausible explanation is that your surname has been anglicized over time and that the current spelling has little to do with the original Dutch spelling.
So how do you go about reconstructing the original Dutch spelling of your surname? Let’s have a look first at common changes that Dutch surnames have suffered under the influence of English.
Sticky Prefixes
Many Dutch surnames have one or more prefixes like van, ter or van der, meaning of, at the and of the. These prefixes are often glued to the surname when transcribed to English. This way De Groot becomes Degroot and Van der Bilt ends up as Vanderbilt. In Dutch listings these prefixes are ignored, so if you type in Degroot you will not get a match. Groot however will yield De Groot. Common prefixes to look out for are: van, van der, van de, de, ter, op, op ‘t, in, in ‘t (of, of the, of the, the, at, on, on the, in and in the).
Is Santa Actually A Dutch Immigrant?
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
This time of year, Santa makes his appearance again, riding the skies in his reindeer drawn sledge, and filling socks with candy and presents whilst cheerfully yelling ho ho ho! But where did this jolly figure come from?
Is it true the myth originated in the Netherlands?
Reindeer And The Birth Of Christ
At Christmas, most Western people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We do this by setting up a Christmas tree in our home, decorating it with balls and candy, and hanging socks from our chimney that a mythical figure called Santa Claus will come and fill with presents on Christmas Eve. Presents that do not fit in the sock, are left underneath the tree. This Santa Claus is a jolly corpulent guy that somehow seems to fit through a chimney (even if there is none), and flies through the sky in a reindeer drawn sledge cheerfully jelling ho ho ho!
Somehow, this Santa figure does not quite fit in with the Christian idea of Christmas, and yet we are all so fond of him that it would be unthinkable to celebrate the holidays without him. Have you ever wondered where this strange mix of traditions came from? I have, and I will happily share my findings with you on these pages. You will even find out that Santa has, at least in part, Dutch roots just like you!
