On the internet one meets people from all of the world. Sometimes I am interested in the history of a country of the people I meet. A few months ago I stumbled on an internet link about the small role of the Dutch in the time around your Declaration of Independence. I read it with interest. Tonight I was giving some tips to a lady on another website about her possible visit to Amsterdam. Because she was also interested in our history I brought that link back and for first time I noticed there wa...

The Netherlands celebrates the birthday of Saint Nicholas on the 5th of December. The legend of Saint Nicholas is very old and very few Dutch people know its actual history. It's a very popular tradition and in recent years it's becoming more popular than ever. In many other countries we have the legend of Santa. Again many don't know its true history. It may or may not surprise you that both are actually the same figure. It seems that Dutch settlers brought the legend of Saint Nicholas to the U...