A salute to Dutch-American relations
Today’s blog post is written by the most famous Dutch writer Diane knows: her husband, Wessel.
Not that you would know (even I didn’t until recently), but this day was instituted in 1991 to celebrate the bilateral relations between the Netherlands and the United States. Nov. 16 was selected because on that day in 1776, Dutch forces on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius returned the salute of a small American warship “Andrew Doria,” thereby making the Netherlands the first country to officially salute the flag of the newly independent United States.
On Oct. 30, 2004, Diane and Wessel sealed their US-Dutch partnership with a kiss (mimicking kissing-Dutch ceramics)
The day is celebrated in parts of the US with a large Dutch community, such as Michigan and the Hudson Valley, New York. Alas, no such tradition exists in North Carolina. But Diane and I recently had our own personal Dutch-American anniversary, which dates back only five years. On Oct. 30, 2004, we were married in the presence of Dutch and American family, friends, and flags. Liefde is love.
November 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm |
But the fun is, Wessel, that the small-scale Dutch-American relationship you write about is not a heritage. No, it’s still alive. Keep it that way.
November 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm |
That’s a very valid observation. I guess you could say we’re part of a living tradition. And as traditions go, they are best preserved by living them yourself. So we’ll keep working on that. Thanks for the encouragement!
November 16, 2009 at 11:09 pm |
Your wedding still ranks up there as one of the best ever that I’ve attended! So I love the Dutch-American relationship!
November 17, 2009 at 9:57 am |
Thanks, Al!
November 17, 2009 at 7:07 am |
Thanks very much for your blog. At my advanced age (78), I am still
very proud of my Dutch roots and so are my children and grand children.
I came to this country at the age of 19, served 2 years in the US army during the Korean war.
Was sworn in as a citizen and much later served 2 years in the Peace Corps in Gabon, Africa. A small pay-back to the men, who rescuded us
from the brutal occupation of the German Pigs.
Aat