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What's in a name?

What is the name of this country? Sometimes it is called Holland, and sometimes the Netherlands. And the people who live here are called the Dutch. At times it is called one of the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). Dutch people like to call their country "The Netherlands" rather than "Holland." "Nederland" is the country's official name. The word Holland only appears in the names of two of the nation's twelve provinces, Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, which lie north and south of Amsterdam. This is a picture of a church on the left. If you look at the religion of other countries in Europe, and in the Netherlands (use The Almanac site on the intranet) you will see some interesting facts and figures.

The Dutch people have often had other countries taking them over. They believe that it is very important to act normal (doe gewoon), but they also think it is important to let people have their own different beliefs and lifestyles.

The Netherlands doesn't have lots of rich and extravagant palaces, but neither does it have many slums. The Dutch think it is important to be fair to each other, and compromise.