Nieuw in Nederland: Feesten en rituelen in verandering

New in the Netherlands: Celebrations and rituals in change contribute to the public debate about immigrants, culture and nationalism. The book calls into question the idea that migrant cultures exist in the Netherlands, each with their own traditional festivals and rituals. The underlying assumption that migrants form defined communities with their own cultures has been refuted on the basis of ethnographic research. The book focuses on celebrations and rituals that have arisen in the Netherlands as a result of the arrival of new Dutch people: from a baptism in a Ghanaian Pentecostal church to the multicultural event Kwakoe. Contrary to a conventional perspective, in which these celebrations are seen as part of and belonging to migrant cultures, the contributions show that these celebrations stem from our Dutch society as a whole. Celebrations of new Dutch people appear to be a hybrid in which Dutch history is as decisive as the traditions in the country of origin. Festivities and rituals may seem stable, but they are constantly changing. Under the heading ‘new Dutchness’ New in the Netherlands paints not so much a portrait of immigrant cultures, but of culture in the Netherlands.