avondvierdaagse
no English words to describe
it’s just gezellig

Adapted from The Guardian article, Dutch children are unusually happy and healthy. Is it because of this walking ritual? by Hannah Docter-Loeb, an Amsterdam-based science journalist who primarily covers science, human health, and sustainability where she writes:

It’s the second night of Avondvierdaagse (which literally means “four-day evening walk”) , organised by a group of neighbourhood volunteers. It’s not a race, but if children complete every night, they get medals, a bouquet of flowers and, if they’re lucky, a lot of sweets. It’s not just Amsterdam; across villages, towns and cities in the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people are doing the same: every year, kids spend four evenings in early summer exploring their neighbourhoods with their school friends and parents as part of the Week van de Avond4daagse. Some places had celebrated earlier; others were walking the following week. A variation of the tradition has even made its way to Suriname, one of the Dutch former colonies. There are also four-day cycling and swimming events. According to the Royal Dutch Walking Association (KWbN), which helps coordinate the events, half a million people take part every year, in 700 locations across the country, powered by tens of thousands of volunteers.

Avondvierdaagse is such a positive event, it’s hard to find any downsides to it. Some have questioned whether the walks are inclusive enough – for people with disabilities, for instance, or those from different cultural backgrounds. In Amsterdam, especially, the events’ participants may not necessarily reflect the diversity of the population, appealing more to higher-income parents in the neighbourhood.

Dutch kids are consistently judged to be some of the happiest in the world. This year, a Unicef report again ranked them number one out of 44 western countries for overall wellbeing, and for mental health. Rich social relations were cited as a key factor. Research has shown that Dutch children have strong connections with their peers. In addition, many Dutch parents work part-time, so have more time to spend with their children. Children also have increased independence: parents let their kids roam more freely, and many start young, cycling to and from school by themselves.

As I leave, Joost Klein’s 2024 Eurovision entry, Europapa (another local kids’ favourite), is playing for the third time in 20 minutes, and no one seems to care, nor do they mind that the weather seems to be turning overcast and rainy. They are more focused on the party. There are no English words to fully describe the feeling of pure joy that encapsulates the area. It’s just gezellig.

I grew up with a dutch heritage as 6 of my 8 great grand parents were born in the Netherlands.

As I grew up in West Michigan, this was only unusual for the fact that I had some great grand parents who weren’t dutch.

My Dad would tell us stories of when he was a child his family would go out to visit the family farm in Jamestown, Michigan and his relatives would try to teach him dutch words and laugh and laugh at his attempted pronunication.

One story that stands out in my mind was my Dad telling how they were all standing around in the kitchen when one of his cousins came in. “Where were you,” Dad said he asked. His cousin responded (this being in the early 1930’s). “I had to go vote. I cast my ballot for Hoover.” Only reason I mention this story was its appropriateness for today.

But I digress.

Getting back to dutch words, what can you do with Avondvierdaagse?

I asked The Google.

Avondvierdaagse is pronounced roughly as “AH-vont-VEER-dahg-seh” in Dutch.

Because it is a compound word meaning “evening four-day walk”, breaking it down into its core components makes it much easier to say:

Phonetic Breakdown –

Avond (Evening) → AH-vont

Ah like the “a” in “father”.

Vont rhymes with the English word “want” (the “d” sounds like a “t” at the end of Dutch words).

Vier (Four) → VEER Sounds exactly like the English word “veer” or “fear” but with a “v”.

Daagse (Days long) → DAHG-seh

Dahg uses the long “ah” sound. The “g” is the tricky guttural Dutch “g”—a soft, raspy throat-clearing sound similar to the “ch” in the Scottish word loch.

Seh uses a short, neutral schwa sound, like the “uh” at the end of “sofa”.

Simple right?

No wonder my relatives laughed at my Dad.

It’s just It’s just gezellig.

Gezellig?

Gezellig (pronounced heh-SELL-ick) is a famous Dutch word with no direct English translation. It roughly means cozy, inviting, or charming, but is most accurately used to describe the warm, pleasant social vibe that comes from being in good company.

The term is central to Dutch culture and lifestyle, capturing any moment of togetherness that feels comfortable and heartening.

It’s a word like this that makes you wonder about growing up in West Michigan with its strong Calvinist traditions.

Calvinism was once described to me as the fear that somewhere, someone was having a good time.

Trying to square this with gezellig is what makes me wonder.

Then I remember.

My ancestors were the ones that left the Netherlands and came to the United States and increased the level of gezellig in both places.