The Dutch are wearing orange at the World Cup and people are confused

In the past weeks it was a joy to watch the confused Americans tweeting about the Dutch team in their orange jersey. 

The Dutchies have a very charming image on an international level, but still, they like to boost that with some colour-coded outfits. 

They like to do it as publicly as possible, to show their love for their beautiful flat country

The only problem is that no one has a clue as to why they like to dress up as a carrot on occasion. 🥕

While watching the World Cup, there is another new group of people, who are desperately googling why the Dutch team wears orange colours. 

But after all, it’s a more than legitimate question! The Dutch flag doesn’t even have orange in it (anymore) so many people wonder why they are not dressing up in red, white or blue.

Why do Dutch fans wear orange?

Around any international events where the Dutchies are competing with other countries, everyone dresses up in orange, all the stores start to sell orange accessories, and their excitement is more than visible. 

For some reason, when it comes to representing themselves at any world-renowned international events, like at the World Cup, they all jump into their closets for their carrot costumes. 

If you ever see this orange sea of people, you have two options: join or run! 

READ MORE: Challenge ahead: The Dutch to meet the U.S. in World Cup round of 16

If you don’t mind some oranje paint on your face, and you can learn the basic chant like, “Hup Holland hup!”

Why is there no orange in the Dutch flag?

Thanks for asking! Their flag does not include orange (and let’s be honest it might not be the most flattering colour to wear). 

But did you know that it used to be part of the flag? The flag was once orange, white and blue but the orange band was changed to red. Historians have a few theories as to why.

One of the most popular theories is that the dye used to stain the flag orange was prone to changing to a red colour over time. So to avoid confusion, the flag was officially changed to red.

So why is it orange? 🍊

The first blue orange blood member of the family was king William of Orange. He is known as the father of the Netherlands, bringing unity to the region for the first time. 

READ MORE: Why does the Netherlands love orange?

Since then, the name of the Dutch Royal family is Orange-Nassau. Don’t worry, it won’t be weirder than this. 

While the excitement and the so-called “orange fever” is less this year because of Qatar’s controversial human rights and corruption criticism, it is still quite visible. 

Do you have any orange clothes that you use to celebrate with the Dutchies? Tell us in the comments! 

Mihály Droppa
Mihály Droppa
Mihály fell in love with (and in) Amsterdam, so he quit his NGO job in Budapest and moved to Amsterdam to become a journalist. His apartment is full of plants and books, two dogs, and a random mouse in the kitchen. You might find him in Vondelpark, where he spends most of his life throwing tennis balls for his vizslas and listening to podcasts. His nickname is Mex — ask him why!

1 COMMENT

  1. The father of the fatherland William of Orange was not a king. He was the “Prince of Orange” in that he ruled the Principality of Orange in today’s southern France. The family didn’t properly become “royal” until 1815 unless you count William III who was king of England but not the Netherlands.

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