Kebudayaan Belanda

Bahasa

Bahasa utama adalah Belanda, sementara Frisia Barat juga adalah bahasa diakui dan ia digunakan oleh kerajaan di provinsi Friesland. Beberapa loghat Saxon Rendah (Nedersaksisch dalam bahasa Belanda) ditutur di kebanyakan utara dan timur dan diakui oleh Belanda sebagai bahasa-bahasa serantau menurut Carta Eropah untuk Bahasa Serantau atau Minoriti. 

Satu lagi loghat Belanda diperolehi kedudukan bahasa Serantau adalah Limburgish, yang ditutur di provinsi tenggara Limburg.
 Meskipun, Low Saxon dan Limburgish disebar disepanjang sempadan Belanda-German dan belong dengan suatu Dutch-Low German dialect continuum yang umum.

Agama

Calvinism became the theological system of the majority in the Netherlands during the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years War. Other religions were tolerated, but could not practice their religion in public.
The Netherlands today is one of the most secular countries in Europe. An estimated 49.6% of the population (2007) call themselves non-religious. The remaining are  15.7% Protestant, 27% Roman Catholic, and 5.3% Muslim (data CBS 2005, 2007). In former ages, Protestantism used to be the largest religion in the Netherlands, but there has always been a high percentage of Roman Catholics, who were strongly predominating in the southern provinces, but also considerably present in the northern ones. However, over the past century the older Protestant churches have been in decline. Islam has begun to gain a foothold and mosques are being built.  The Netherlands is also home to a significant Hindu minority, mostly made up of migrants who came from former colony Suriname after its independence.

Flemish atau Belanda

Until 1830, the Dutch and Flemish were generally seen as one people. Due to religious wars and the Eighty Years War, a split slowly started to take place. Therefore, historical Flemish and Dutch art are hard to separate. Most artists of the period (like Bruegel) are described as Flemish, even though they might have been born in the present day Netherlands. Some of the most famous indisputably Dutch artists from before the 17th century are Hieronymus Bosch, a painter, and the brothers de Limbourg, three miniaturists who are most famous for their work for the Duke of Berry.

Abad ke-19 dan 20

The Dutch artists of the 18th century are less well-known. The most important paintings were the land- and seascapes (or marines). Only at the end of the 19th century did an internationally very important painter, Vincent Van Gogh, appear. 
In the 20th century, the Netherlands produced many fine painters and artists, including Piet Mondriaan, a noted contributor to the De Stijl art movement, who was also among the vanguard of non-representational painting.  The 20th century also produced some of the members of the COBRA movement, including Karel Appel and Corneille.

Muzik dan tarian

The Netherlands have multiple musical traditions ranging from folk and dance to classical music and ballet. In the 21st century people with an African or Middle Eastern background have also had a profound effect, most notably in hip hop and rap. Much more so than most non-English speaking European countries, the Netherlands has remained closely in tune with American and British trends ever since the 50's.
Aruba and the five main islands of the Antillen Belanda are part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. Their music is a mixture of native, African and Dutch elements, and is closely connected with trends from neighboring islands like Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago and Guadeloupe, as well as the mainland former Dutch possession of Suriname, which has exported kaseko music to great success on the islands. Curaçao and Bonaire likely have the most active and well-known music scenes. Curaçao is known for a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.

Kabaret

The Dutch also have their own distinct version of cabaret.

Media

The media of the Netherlands consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines. It is characterized by a tradition of pillarization, and increasing commercialization.

Filem

Some Dutch films have received international distribution and recognition, such as Turkish Delight ("Turks Fruit") (1973), Soldier of Orange ("Soldaat van Oranje") (1975), Spetters (1980) and The Fourth Man ("De Vierde Man") (1983) by director Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven later went on to direct such Hollywood fare as Robocop and Basic Instinct.
Other famous Dutch film directors are Dick Maas (De Lift), Fons Rademakers (The Assault), Jan De Bont (Speed), documentary maker Bert Haanstra and Joris Ivens. Film director Theo van Gogh achieved international notoriety in 2004 when he was murdered in the streets of Amsterdam. 
Internationally famous Dutch film actors are Jeroen Krabbé, Rutger Hauer, Derek de Lint and also a few female stars like Sylvia Kristel, Famke Janssen and Carice van Houten.

Komik

The Dutch have a distinct comic tradition as well. Even though there is an abundance of Flemish, Franco-Belgian, and American comics, they also created their own tradition, with a more literary kind of comics. The most prominent author was Marten Toonder and his creations Tom Poes and Heer Bommel (Tom Puss / Oliver B. Bumble series).

Masakan

Dutch cuisine is characterized by its somewhat limited diversity; however, it varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of the Netherlands for example share dishes with Flanders and vice versa. Dutch food is traditionally characterized by the high consumption of vegetables when compared to the consumption of meat. Dairy products are also eaten to great extent, Dutch cheeses are world renowned with famous cheeses such as Gouda, Edam and Leiden. Dutch pastry is extremely rich and is eaten in great quantities. When it comes to alcoholic beverages wine has long been absent in Dutch cuisine (but this is changing during the last decades); traditionally there are many brands of beer and strong alcoholic spirits such as jenever and brandewijn.
The Dutch have all sorts of pastry and cookies (the word "cookie" is in fact derived from Dutch), many of them filled with marzipan, almond and chocolate. A truly huge amount of different pies and cakes can be found, most notably in the southern provinces, especially the so called Limburgish vlaai.

Tradisi

One of the most characteristic festivities in the Netherlands is the feast of Sint Nicolaas or Sinterklaas. It is celebrated on the evening before Sinterklaas' birthday on December 5, especially in families with little children. In the United States the original figure of Dutch Sinterklaas has merged with Father Christmas into Santa Claus. In the Netherlands, gift-bringing at Christmas has recently gained some popularity too, but Sinterklaas is much more popular.
Another characteristic festivity in the Netherlands is the feast of Sint Maarten. The day is celebrated in the evening of November 11 in some parts of the Netherlands. Children go by the doors with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St. Martin and about their lantern in return for a treat.  In some regions the paper lantern is replaced by a self made lantern, made from a hollowed out sugar beet (suikerbiet).

Sumber

Ad Welschen, 2000-2005: Course Dutch Society and Culture, International School for Humanities and Social Studies ISHSS, Universiteit van Amsterdam.