Oudejaarsavond
New Year’s Eve, celebrated with oliebollen, apple beignets, champagne and midnight fireworks.
Oudejaarsavond, or New Year's Eve, is celebrated in the Netherlands on December 31st. The day is marked by various traditions and activities that lead up to the midnight countdown. One of the most iconic traditions is the setting off of fireworks, which is legal and widely practiced across the country. The night sky is illuminated with colorful displays, and the sound of firecrackers fills the air. This is a time for families and friends to gather, often in public spaces or at home, to enjoy the spectacle together.
From Christmas onwards the radio plays the Top 2000, a countdown of the two thousand best songs ever, and on the evening itself the whole country watches the oudejaarsconferentie, a comedian's satirical look back at the year. The food is oliebollen, deep-fried dough balls with raisins dusted with icing sugar, bought from an oliebollenkraam on the street or fried at home, and appelflappen, apple turnovers. At midnight glasses of champagne are raised with 'Proost!' and 'De beste wensen!', everyone goes outside to set off fireworks, and the bravest start the year with a nieuwjaarsduik, a dip in the North Sea at Scheveningen.
The pack has 36 words spread across these domains.
Same words in both. Beginner gets more help: matching and completing. Advanced listens and spells it out unaided. Pick it in practice; it locks when you take the scored run.
Practise as often as you like, all year. The scored run happens once, while the competition is open, and cannot be retaken.