For many visitors, as they wander the stunning streets of Amsterdam or other cities, one of the most interesting discoveries is the fact that they can easily see inside the homes of the Dutch. This is due to the fact that the locals do not close the curtains, do not have shutters or in some cases, do not have curtains at all. A number of questions have been raised about this phenomenon: Is it a mentality to say "I have nothing to hide" or to say "Look what I have?". Or both?
The most commonly used explanation refers to the Protestant religious tradition of Calvinism, which insisted that honest citizens have nothing to hide.
Offending. Protestantism - the common denominator of some Christian faiths, which broke away from the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinism - a branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition of John Calvin, one of the theologians of the Reformation.
However, the desire to show off furniture and furnishings can be another explanation. Increasing living standards over time have further fueled the desire to display what one possesses.
Others say that this phenomenon is explained by the way business was done in ancient times. People left curtains open to show rooms with furniture, decorations, artwork, as a way to promote themselves to traders.
It is also thought that the tradition dates back to the 1950s and has begun to change. Hilje van der Horst and Jantine Messing, anthropologists, researched the phenomenon in 2006 and noted that open curtains were more prevalent in communities where people are in contact and have some sort of relationship with each other.
Another explanation is the culture of the locals, who want to see what happens beyond the window. They like to see the lights, the people walking, the rushing of the mornings and so on. Interaction inside-out helps to foster the open culture for which the Dutch are known.
Source: CNN
