This post is about the yearly celebration in the port of Scheveningen : Vlaggetjesdag, when the fishing boats are decked with little bunting flags to herald the arrival of the green, or, as we call it, the 'new' herring.
From Scheveningen harbour two large fishing boats, the pair trawlers Wiron 5 (the SCH 22) and 6 (the SCH 23) leave end of May for the herring grounds on the North Sea.
In ten days time they catch the green or 'new' herring, gut and salt them on board and return to Scheveningen where they are welcomed with shanty choirs, a fun fair and all things fish - Vlaggetjesdag.
The first bucketful of Dutch New herring is sold at auction. The yield - which can be up to as much as 100.000 euros! - goes to a charity.
And then we savour our 'new herring', de Hollandse Nieuwe. We eat them raw.
In Amsterdam by cutting the fish into bitesize pieces, in the Hague you hold the fish by the tail, throw your head back, lower the fish into your mouth and bite off a mouthful. It's a strange sight if you see it for the first time but personally I cannot think of a better way.
So important are the herring in the lives (and traditions) of the Dutch that one of our national newspapers runs a test to find out where you can get the best of these newly caught herring.
Our fav. fishmonger has been in the Top 3 (or 2, and won twice) for the last 10 years.
In the evening we watched a documentary on tv about the two Wirons, with the crew we had just seen on the quays waiting for departure - a couple of hours ago we had chatted with them and had wished them a safe journey.
From Scheveningen harbour two large fishing boats, the pair trawlers Wiron 5 (the SCH 22) and 6 (the SCH 23) leave end of May for the herring grounds on the North Sea.
In ten days time they catch the green or 'new' herring, gut and salt them on board and return to Scheveningen where they are welcomed with shanty choirs, a fun fair and all things fish - Vlaggetjesdag.
The first bucketful of Dutch New herring is sold at auction. The yield - which can be up to as much as 100.000 euros! - goes to a charity.
And then we savour our 'new herring', de Hollandse Nieuwe. We eat them raw.
In Amsterdam by cutting the fish into bitesize pieces, in the Hague you hold the fish by the tail, throw your head back, lower the fish into your mouth and bite off a mouthful. It's a strange sight if you see it for the first time but personally I cannot think of a better way.
So important are the herring in the lives (and traditions) of the Dutch that one of our national newspapers runs a test to find out where you can get the best of these newly caught herring.
Our fav. fishmonger has been in the Top 3 (or 2, and won twice) for the last 10 years.
In the evening we watched a documentary on tv about the two Wirons, with the crew we had just seen on the quays waiting for departure - a couple of hours ago we had chatted with them and had wished them a safe journey.
