56. 3 October

In early October last year, I received a letter from my younger brother Max, which brought back many memories for me. He’d written to tell me that he and his wife, Nel, had just been to the old Dutch city of Leiden, to join in celebrating the 3 October festivities. These festivities are held annually to celebrate the day when Leiden regained its freedom, after it had been surrounded by the Spanish army for many months in 1574. Leiden is very close to the village of Leiderdorp, where Max and I were born. Leiden is also where my son Mark and his family live, where I went to high school and where Sue and I have spent some very happy holidays.

To begin with, I need to give you a little historical background (although my Dutch readers would already know this). In the sixteenth century people living in Holland were strongly influenced by new doctrines and beliefs. Although the country was still part of the Spanish arm of the Habsburgs Empire and Spain controlled the 17 provinces of the Netherlands, the “Protestant Reformation” had swept through parts of the country and this had led to a revolt against the Spanish Catholic rulers. In 1568 this developed into a war with Spain which lasted for 80 years. 

Riots had begun and statues, relics and other religious objects in churches and monasteries were smashed, including those in the centuries-old Benedictine abbey in Rijnsburg, where some of my ancestors lived (see post 54 – Opa Piet). In response, General Don Alvarez de Toledo (“Alva”) received orders from the Spanish King to take control of the situation. Alva initially had an army of 9000 foot-soldiers and 1200 horsemen, but the methods which he used caused so much resentment that the people fought back strongly, and he was forced to increase his army to 58,000 men.

During the Spanish War one of the most popular figures in the Netherlands was William of Orange, who was the person in charge of the provinces of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. He pleaded with the Spanish government to stop Alva’s persecution of non-Catholics and when this was not successful, he changed his own religion and became a Protestant, and from then on he led the revolt against the Spanish.

In the context of this long struggle between Spain and the people of the Netherlands, the story of Leiden’s ultimate freedom and survival is understandably celebrated by almost all Dutch people. In May 1574 the Spaniards camped outside the city walls of Leiden, after nearby villages such as Leiderdorp had already been overrun by them. They continued their siege of the city for many months and after supplies within the walls had run out there was no longer enough food. The people of Leiden suffered terribly and one third of the population of 18.000 perished, because of famine and the bubonic plague.

The story goes that the situation became so bad that a crowd confronted the officials at the Town Hall and demanded “bread or surrender”. The mayor, Pieter van der Werf, then offered the people his own body “to be cut in pieces and to be divided among as many people as possible”.

Fortunately for the people (and the mayor), the Spaniards were eventually forced to withdraw their troops, to avoid being flooded by the water surrounding them, after the dykes of large rivers had been cut and the floodgates opened. According to the story, a young man who had sneaked out discovered that the Spaniards had fled the rising water and had left behind a cauldron filled with “hutspot”, a stew which included potatoes, onions and carrots. On 3 October, many inhabitants of Leiden and its surrounds still celebrate the day by sharing a dish of hutspot with their friends or families.

In 1575, as a reward for not surrendering to the Spanish, William of Orange offered the city of Leiden a new university, which is now one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the Netherlands. 

My brother Max no longer lives close to Leiden, having moved many years ago to the east of the country. In his letter he told us that he and Nel had been invited to partake in the 3 October festivities by friends of friends, who still live there. They obviously had a great and memorable day. Upon their arrival in Leiden, they were first offered coffee and cake (a very nice Dutch custom!) and they then boarded the “salon boat” belonging to their host for a day of travelling through Leiden’s canals. On the boat they enjoyed a traditional “3 October meal” of white bread and herring accompanied by a few bottles of wine. They were able to watch the big “optocht”, a very long procession, featuring historical figures, many horses, different bands and beautiful floats and at the fairground they were treated to “oliebollen” (deep-fried, round pastries filled with raisins and dusted with powdered sugar). Finally, they finished the day at their friend’s apartment enjoying the traditional dish of “hutspot”.

As a child I watched the 3 October procession many times and I remember that I was always very moved and impressed by what I saw, by the strange looking people in their 16^th century costumes, the horses, the floats and all the music. I also still remember the traditional food offerings.

What I now regret is, that, having left home when I was 18 years old, I never, in seventy years, was able to find the right time to be back in Leiden on this special day, 3 October, to see it all again. But I’m glad that Max and Nel made the most of their opportunity to go back to Leiden once more, and I’m happy that my son Mark continues to live there and enjoys the celebrations every year.

O.P.

P.S. On Sunday, 13 October, we will learn about Sue’s early life history and visit the beautiful seaport of Mystic in the USA.