Carnival:
one of those yearly traditions nobody really knows where it originates from. In
Holland, only the southern part of the country celebrates this tradition and
still nobody really knows why. What many
people do know is how to celebrate it. Get dressed as pirate, monkey or
whatsoever. On the date of writing, carnival is almost over and for me this is
always a time of reflection. It was my first time in Tilburg and I began to
wonder why everybody calls it “Kruikenstad” (In English: city of jars). You, at
least if you are a citizen of Kruikenstad, are called a “Kruikezeiker”. In
English this means somebody who pees in a jar. But now, after the festivities,
it is time to change the alcohol and ignorance for some more knowledge about
why we are called like that!
On the picture you can see a statue which is
dedicated to the name “Kruikezeiker”. This statue is located in the
Nieuwlandstraat in Tilburg. Maybe you have walked pass it already.
Traditionally,
there were a lot of textile factories in the city. The process of creating textile and especially wool involves cleaning
it. The people of Tilburg used urine to wash the wool. They filled a big bath
and filled it with one third of urine and the other two third with water. And
because normal people can’t just pee whenever they want and definitely not a bath
full, the “Kruikezeikers” saved their urine in jars. Can you image? As basement
full with urine? People could even sell
their own piss!
Of course,
after this process, the urine was washed out. However, there is one exception:
the color blue. Urine was once used to dye clothing blue. So be warned, the
next time you buy some nice blue jeans, because maybe your neighbor just helped
you to turn it into that color.
No, don’t
worry, the last time they used urine to dye clothing was on October 11th
1689.
all these international exchange students at Tilburg University is also the perfect opportunity for Dutch students who are interested in studying at one of our partner universities to meet people from the country they are interested in, and ask those questions they can’t ask anyone else. incassobureau inschakelen (2x)
ReplyDeleteI got to see this statue during euroweek in tilburg in 2006. great host city
ReplyDelete