Why the Dutch eat hotchpotch on October 3
On October 3, many Dutch eat carrot hotchpotch known as "hutspot". This is mashed potato with carrot and onions, served with smoked sausage. Some add little bacon strips and/or cheese dice to it. Why? To commemorate that on October 3, 1574 the siege of the city of Leiden by the Spanish troops finally came to an end.
In 1568, Dutch rebels had taken up arms against the rule of the Spaniards. A few years later, in 1573, the Spaniards besieged the rebel city of Leiden. Although the rebels defended themselves well, even after fighting a whole year, they had been unable to lift the siege. Finally, in September 1754, they broke the dikes to let the seawater pour into the low, reclaimed land around the city and literally flush the enemy out. Unfortunately, it took until October 3, 1754 for a big storm to finally push the water far enough through the dikes to make the Spaniards flee.
When our first son was born, the neighbors treated us to a huge stork, balloons and other baby decorations that they put up in our garden as a surprise. A week later, all the ladies came to see the little guy at an event specific to the Twente region, called "kroamschudden", which is pretty much like a baby shower. Since I am not from this part of the country, all this was new to me. Later I learned that this tradition is a remnant of what is called "noaberschap".
Almost every genealogist has stumbled upon them at a certain point of their research: the family myths. The most common myth is that of having royal blood, but every family has its own particular myths that are so detailed that they are hard to dismiss right away. What to do with grandma insisting that her grandfather was an African prince although her family does not look African at all? And what about grandpa claiming that the old gun in his cabinet once belonged to Thomas Jefferson? 
Once he was a common sight in every town and city: the milkman with his dogcart filled with milk churns. He would call at each door and fill your cup or pan with fresh, non-pasteurized milk. During hot summers, a white blanket was put over the churns to keep most of the heat out. Nonetheless, the milk was not fit for drinking right out of the churn. It had to be cooked first to kill the germs. Choosing the right milkman was no easy task since many of them tended to dilute the milk with water. In the worst case with not-so-clean water.
Ask any Dutch person to name a typical food from the province of Limburg and they will most probably answer: "vlaai"! Vlaai is a pie made of a flat spongy base that is then topped with fruit and whipped cream. It is said that vlaai originally was a Germanic dish. 
The Dutch are famous because of their relationship with the sea and water in general. We reclaimed land from the sea, used water to drive our economy, sailed the seven seas, and conquered nations far away. Nowadays, we are still fighting the flood every day by keeping our dikes up-to-date. A people that intertwined with the sea and water cannot but reveal that special bond in its language. Today I'll share with you some of the literally hundreds of Dutch sayings involving water.
"Duivekater" is a sweet bread that is very popular in the so-called Zaanstreek, the area North of Amsterdam. It is a luxury bread that is only eaten at Christmas and Easter. The odd name "Duivekater", if taken literally, means something like "pigeon cat". Actually, it is a corruption of the old Dutch "deuvels kakor" meaning "devil's cake".
When I got married my dear mother had arranged for a very special bridal gift: a large antique mirror that had been passed on from mother to daughter for generations. The mirror came with a family myth. It had once belonged to my great grandmother Anne–Co who received it as a bridal gift from her father who was a carpenter.
As I was watching the countdown towards the New Year on my TV my thoughts wandered off to my ancestors who did not have (nor needed, perhaps) such exact timing available to them. In fact, for centuries the only way to tell the time more or less accurately was using a sundial. The only problem with sundials is that you need, well, the sun. So what to do on cloudy days and at night?