Netherlands presentation

Netherlands Presentation

By: Thomas McMillan

Mr. Woodward’s Geography Class

Physical Characteristics

• Unlike other countries in Europe, the Netherlands is located below sea level, held in by dikes.

• Dike- An embankment of earth and rock built to prevent floods.

• Much of the land mass is the Netherlands is land that has been reclaimed from the sea.

Physical Characteristics (Part 2)

• The country contains flat lands in the west and north, much of it being polders, that protects the Netherlands from the sea.

• Polder- An area of low-lying land, especially in the Netherlands, that has been reclaimed from a body of water and is protected by dikes.

Physical Characteristics (Part 3)

• Also the Netherlands contains minor hills in the east and south though this area is still mostly flat.

Cultural Characteristics

• The Netherlands people see family as the foundation of the social structure. Families tend to be small, often with only one or two children.

Cultural Characteristics (Part 2)

• Appearances are very important to the Dutch. They are conservative, disciplined, and pay attention to the smallest details. They see themselves as thrifty, practical, hardworking, and well organized.

Cultural Characteristics (Part 3)

• Dutch is the official language in the Netherlands. It is spoken by 90% of the population. Around 350,000 people (2.2%) of the population speak Frisian as their first language. These people mainly live in the northern province of Friesland, where Frisian is the official language. Turkish and Arabic are spoken in the Netherlands each by just over 0.6% of the population

Customs and Traditions

• The Dutch (Netherlands) society is modern, egalitarian, and individualistic.

• When entering a room it is customary to shake hands with everyone present, then to shake hands again on leaving.

• If there are too many people to shake hands with and the setting is informal, publicly identifying yourself will suffice.

Customs and Traditions (Part 2)

• Usually an acquaintance will introduce a visitor to others, otherwise the guest introduces himself.

• The Dutch consider it impolite not to identify oneself.

• The Dutch use one hand to shake hands and typically let go after a very short time.

Customs and Traditions

• Continuing to hold on to someone's hand is mostly considered inappropriate.

• Interesting fact: According to urbandictionary.com a Dutch handshake- is Kicking someone in the chest, especially in an otherwise nonviolent context such as a sports event like the World Cup final match between the Netherlands and Spain in 2010.

• De Jong should have been red carded for the Dutch handshake he gave Alonso in the final. What scum.