| The American Holland Site |
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Holland As an immigrant from the Netherlands, I came to the USA a long time ago. This website is partly about the country that I left: The Netherlands. The more popular and unofficial name is Holland. The people who live there are called the Dutch and their language is Dutch. The country is very small but densely populated. Number of inhabitants: more than 16 million. Wisconsin, where I am living now, counts only 5.5 million inhabitants, though the area it covers is four times as big as the Netherlands. The closest neighbors of Holland are Germany (on the east side) and Belgium on the south. This country has a long and rich history, and a lot of beautiful cities, with very old architecture. The political system is different from the one in the United States. There are many social and cultural differences between the two countries and also many similarities. Holland is a country with many different religions (like in the USA) but traditionally there are three main streams. The moderate Protestants, the more orthodox fundamentalist protestants (the Reformed) and the Roman Catholics. Nowadays about 58% of the Dutch older than 18 are religious. Since the end of the sixties the Islam has been growing fast (8%), caused by a growing immigration from (among other countries) Maroc and Turkey. |
Gas price in the Netherlands twice as high as in the USA. September 10, 2005 Most Americans are complaining about the high gas prices, now more than $ 3.00. Very understandable, because the price doubled in the last 3 years. The Dutch are used to high gas prices. These prices are acceptable for them, because most people can take the bus or train when going to work. Public transportation in the Netherlands is outstanding compared to public transport in the USA. What also matters is that most Dutch workers don't have to drive very far to get to their destination. Many people go to work by bicycle. |
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| (Roman Catholics 30%, moderate protestants 14% and orthodox
protestants 6%). - source:
De Nederlandse Samenleving sociale trends; CBS 2004 Through the ages The Netherlands has been known for its religious tolerance. The Pilgrim Fathers who came to America on the Mayflower had first fled from England to Holland. Before they came to Massachussets, they lived in the city of Leiden. Unfortunately tolerance in the Netherlands seems to have diminished in the last couple of years. |
