The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue, there is no orange at all. But all over the world, the Netherlands is closely identified with orange, of all colors. They wear it on days of national pride, and their sports team uniforms are almost all a bright orange hue.
It may seem strange, but there is some interesting history behind the affection the Dutch have for this particular color.
But first, it’s worth exploring why, if the Dutch are so obsessed with orange, their flag is a red, white and blue tricolor. The Netherlands has the oldest tricolor flag (the French and German flags are some other examples) that the country adopted in 1572 during its War of Independence. The colors came from the Prince of Nassau’s coat of arms.
And according to some historians, the middle stripe (or fess) of the Dutch flag was originally orange, but legend has it that the orange tint was too unstable. Since the stripes would turn red shortly after a flag was made, history goes that red became the official color of the band.
Despite not being part of the Dutch flag, the orange is still a huge part of Dutch culture. The orange craze can be traced back to the roots of the Netherlands – orange is the color of the Dutch royal family.
The lineage of the current dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). This is the same Willem who lends his name to the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus.
William of Orange (Guillermo de Orange)
Willem was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, a movement that led to Dutch independence in 1581. Born in the House of Nassau, Willem became Prince of Orange in 1544 when his cousin René de Chalon, who was the Prince of Orange at that time, named Willem his heir. So Willem was the first branch of the House of Orange-Nassau family tree.
Perhaps the greatest display of orange national pride occurs on Koningsdag (King’s Day), the April 27 holiday that commemorates the birthday of the country’s king. Until 2014, the celebration was known as Queen’s Day, in honor of the previous monarch. You will have a hard time finding a Dutch person who is not sporting the color on this day. And on any royal birthday, the Dutch tricolor is flown with orange flags.
Dutch sports fans and Oranjegekte
But although the color orange has real roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch. Colloquially known as Oranjegekte (orange mania) or Oranjekoorts (orange fever), the obsession with color spread to Dutch sporting events in the late 20th century.
Dutch fans have worn orange to support their teams during World Cup soccer tournaments since about 1934. Orange jerseys, hats and scarves are not the only manifestations of this orange fever; Some enthusiastic Dutch fans paint their cars, houses, shops and streets orange. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines even painted one of its Boeing 777 aircraft orange, another display of Dutch national pride.
So if you plan to visit Amsterdam or anywhere else in the Netherlands, you may want to pack an orange piece of clothing (or two). It may not be the most flattering color option, but when you’re in the Netherlands, wearing orange will help you look like a local.
