Why do Dutch cities get renamed for 3 days a year? 

I received an email disputing the origin I presented for Kaaiendonk. In the video, I state that the origin of Kai is based on the story of King Author and the knights of the round table, this is the origin as given in the “Atlas van de Nederlandse taal” which was my reference for that information. This is also corroborated by other references I used. However, it appears that another book, “de historie van carnaval in Oosterhout” suggests a different origin. That the area around Oosterhout was known as “Kaipolder”, in reference to the number of pebbles found in the area, this, in turn, lead to the people of Oosterhout becoming known as “Kaaienschijters”, and then the carnival name “Kaaiendonk” came from this. This would mean that at least in the case of Kaaiendonk, “Kai” may indeed come from stone. I have not done sufficient research to disprove (in my own mind) the origin presented in either book. However, I somewhat prefer this second story, it’s a little simpler and more logical than the story I found, and I’m temped to Occam's razor the first story away. Nevertheless, the world isn’t necessarily simple and there may well be some truth to both as Oosterhout is not the only city with “Kai” in its carnival name. In any case, it’s always worth keeping in mind when watching a RU-vid video (particularly mine) that the problem with research is you don't know what you don't know and thus don't know to look for it. This is especially true when, like here, we are not looking that the main story of the video.

I’ve been quiet on RU-vid and here for a while. I feel I owe you an explanation. My personal life hasn’t been very conducive to getting videos made. My mother in law has been diagnosed with cancer, which sucks because cancer sucks, and also she had been looking after my son to give me time to work on videos. But that isn’t possible at the moment. The cancer was caught early so the prognosis is good. So nothing to worry about but impacts my ability to work on RU-vid a little.

It was in the video but I’ll put it here too. For my home town in New Zealand, Karaka, I’d call it Orange County. Since Karaka is Māori for orange, as are the berries of the Karaka tree, and the local Rugby area is known as Counties. This amuses me for some reason.

I'd rename Copenhagen to Christiania. Drugs would not just be ligal, but required by law, for the duration of the festivities. Norwegian would also be banned.

"...It must be double Dutch to them." Nice. that alone got my like on this vid.

I'd love to rename (or to be more accurate restore) my city Constantinople

Wow as a Dutch person I genuinely didn’t know this! Always cool to learn more about things you think you know quite well It’s also cool to learn you moved from NZ to NL since I lived in NZ for a few years myself. It makes the videos feel somewhat more close to my own experience Anyway, keep up the great work! Well-produced, informative videos like yours are what makes RU-vid great

4:21 ooh, didn't proofread that, did you? ;) It's: "Nederlanders", "jouw" and "carnavalsnaam". (Still a thumbs up, though; love your content, and spelling is always way too hard.)

Ah the Dutch being Dutch at their finest.

Greetings from Lampegat (though I’m currently in Dwergonië)!

The church: no party for you! The Dutch: Hmm ok, Alexa play Put a Donk on it by Blackout Crew

Greetings from Lampegat, home of Philips. And thus the name lamp = lightbulb. Please note that the dates of carnaval (Burgundian) / vastelaovend (Rheinisch) vary each year. It is celebrated 40 days before Easter (46 including Sundays). And carnaval is generally only celebrated in de catholic (southern) parts of the lowlands, so the Protestant north is not partying along. There are some catholic pockets where it is celebrated in the north (so don't feel excluded peeps from Oldenzaal ;) ) .

Greetings from Nölersriek (Cuijk), we have that name for 4 days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday)

I am from Kruikenstad (Tilburg), the name originates from the time of the industrial revolution, when we had a big textile industry in our city . Where the inhabitans, also named Kruikenzeikers.(Kruik = crock/pitcher/jug, and zeiker = someone who pisses(vulgar)). Who used to piss in the juggs, to degrease/wash the textile, because the high ammonia-content.

bruh, I didn't know that we live in the same city.

How do you still only have 70k subs? Trust me, there'll be a certain video that will catch and suddenly you'll be close half a mill. All the best to your MiL. :)

4:19 /4:18 is only me who likes the Pepsi look of the dutch glag

3:19 is this the Dutch way of saying 'dank'..?

Chr/ist/ians. Why is it always chr/ist/ians?

Holy crap, you’re almost down the road from me! Currently calling from Oeteldonk, originally from Dwergonië! (Normally know as Drunen, where two creeks combined known as de Dwergen flowed through, hence the name.....)

Today I had the opportunity to experience the Limburgish carnival first hand. Its interesting to learn the origin of all the shenanigans happening on the streets. Love the video!

Utterly nonsense! Typical Anglo-Saxon grandeur madness. To relate a local thing to the legend of King Arthur. Like saying that people from Tilburg are called Kruikenzeikers because of the Holy Grail.. Just read about it in the local history and everything is perfectly explained.

Great illustration & explanation! Feel sorry for your mother-in-law :( just don't be so hard on yourself, we're here to support you!

So basically, you switched New Zealand for Old Zealand?

I've noticed the name changes once I moved to Brabant to be with my friends. I've lived in many places throughout Gelderland from Apeldoorn, to Doetinchem, Wezep & 't Harde, Gendt, Lobith and unfortunately a lot more places. But I can genuinely share with confidence that once you're above the rivers people just don't celebrate it. It took me 27 years to learn my birthplace Doetinchem, has a Carnaval's name. People there, never use it. It went as far as having a talk with someone who lives in Groningen who never even heard of Carnaval. The fact they change the names here in Brabant, and traditionally keep it up, I love it as much as I don't, hating change myself with a passion but this is a good change since it brings a lot of joy and positive energy you really feel. Also the people in Brabant are a lot nicer and less uptight compared to those above the rivers they're a lot more likely up for a conversation compared to above the rivers. At least from all those who I've met. Brabo's never change. Love you to bits. Edit: Grammar

Ohh...you actually live [t]here!? I thought you once did, in the way of 'past perfect tense', but you actually still do or do again? No wonder ever other video involves something Dutch :) Btw, I'm happy to see you back again!

I'm form Geertruidenberg but met carnaval it's Pottenschijtersland

Watching this from Kruikenstad (Tilburg). Though I'm originally from Venlo where the rhenish carnaval is celebrated. Though sometimes it is called Jocus-riék during vastelaovend (carnaval), kind of incorporating the name change aspect of burgundian carnaval.

I'm Dutch and I didn't really know this. That being said, I'm from the North. We don't really do Carnaval here. I live in the 5th/6th largest city of the Netherlands (Groningen), which has over 230,000 people, yet we don't have a Carnaval name. The city where I was born (Delfzijl) does have one: Krabbersiel. It apparently comes from a swear word the next door city had for us.

The etymology of carnival is uncertain. You'd do well to frame it that way

My hometown of Tiel is a bit weird. Not a traditionally catholic town but bordering the catholic south, only seperated by the river Waal. It’s smack in the middle of the bible belt but not part of it (The bible belt actually goes around Tiel to the north). A village directly to the east of Tiel has been incorporated into Tiel centuries ago. This village was catholic, so even though Tiel isn’t catholic there is traditionally a sizeable minority. This is probably why carnival isn’t really celebrated here but somehow it is. People from Tiel are ‘Hotsjekkers’ becauce of a carnival club called by that name. That eventually resulted in the name Hotsjekkerstad. Is carnival a thing in Tiel? Nah. Not really. If people from Tiel want to celebrate carnival they head south to the villages just across the river or to a city like Oeteldonk.

Not only cities and towns change name! Some schools do too! (although that's mostly Catholic schools in the traditionally non-catholic, non-celebrating North, to give their kids a feeling of how it is in the south) My roman Catholic old primary school de Hoeksteen (cornerstone) changes its name to Confettikanon (I don't think I need to translate that, do I?)

seattles second name should be portland because we are a land with a port. this also diminishes the intrinsic value of the city by 1000%.

Nice video! Greetings from Lampegat (Eindhoven)

I'm Dutch, and never heard of this happening... But then again, I am from the north, where Carnival isn't that big a deal.

Rename Melbourne, Australia to Batmania Yes, that’s a thing

Happy upcoming Mardi Gras!

Any fellow Oeteldonkers here?

Hoogezand-Sappemeer Lagezand-Sappeberg

London would be named londonistan.

It’s not spelled Carnival. It’s spelled Carnaval. A carnival is something totally different.

4:21 We piss in vases, we are vasepissers

Carnival, aka, YEET MEAT

I like the new music, but I miss the old music. I wonder if you could work in both in future vids. (P.S: I have Dutch heritage, too, and get back there pretty much every year these days. But I didn't know about this carnival thing. Cool.)

How’s your Dutch coming along then? Is everyone still speaking to you in English? Haha

I like the sound of Donk, so I'll call my city Donkdonk :-) nice video, I had never heard of this name-changing tradition until now!

No one: Kaaiendonk: °o°

I live in Zwabberdam, but we don't really celebrate carnaval the same way as under the rivers!

Cool, I live in the Netherlands and have family in New Zealand.

I live in one the northern provinces of the country and I had never heard of this

Hooray for Oeteldonk!

Alaaf!

#oeteldonk

Didn't know you live in Oosterhout, that's pretty awesome! Not a place I would think of when people move to the Netherlands as most people stay in the bigger cities like Amsterdam, Den haag and Rotterdam. I used to date a girl for quite some time that lived in Oosterhout so I visited quite a lot. I'm originally from Arnhem in Gelderland, so I used to celebrate Carnival every year. I moved to the states a few years ago because of that I don't celebrate it anymore but it's always a nice time of year when I talk to my old friends about it when they are celebrating it back in the Netherlands. It's always (like we say in dutch) gezellig, and a lot of fun! Anyway, great video as always!

I had never heard of this before and I have been living in the Netherlands for more than 15 years. Good job! PS I wouldn’t rename my hometown because it is well known in the area for being a Karnevalshochburg.

My Native city of Barranquilla, which has the second largest carnival in the Americas if not the world (someone correct me on that) already has a cool name so I wouldn't rename it. However, I also couldn't think of a cool and/or funny name for it anyways.

I will share the origin story of Lampegat (Eindhoven), which is actually really simple. It is from Lampe(n) (lights) and gat (hole) where the lights part refers to the cities reason of existance, the Philips lighting factories for which it was famous in the 20th century. The hole part refers to the fact that Eindhoven was a village before Philips came to Eindhoven and is now the biggest city in the province. Hole is used humorously to denote a small village (common in Dutch).

Huh, that's quite weird but really interesting. Thanks for the quality video!

Groeten uit oeteldonk

I didnt know you lived in kaaiendonk! I live really close by in peejenrijk and have been in kaaiendonk this week for carnaval! Have a good one!

Groete uit Suid-Afrika

It’s been a while!!!! Finally seen you again.

Really great video as always!

*FINALLY!!!*

I live in Sassendonk currently! (Zwolle)

Great video! (Even though my eyes died from reading so much Dutch)

Am I first?

Groeten uit Kielegat!

Fun vid!

Wouldn't rename my city, but I'd rename Sterling Heights to Sterling Reich since it's a damned fascist police state.

1:05 but that's terribly untrue