To whom do national days matter? A comparison of national belonging across generations and ethnic groups in the Netherlands

Abstract

This paper studies to what extent participating in days for national commemoration and celebration is associated with feelings of national belonging, and to what extent this is comparable across generations and ethnic groups. Utilizing data from a national survey (N = 4,505), three major national days in the Netherlands are examined. We find that whereas participation in Queen's Day is associated with national belonging for all generations, for Remembrance Day this holds only for the generation born between 1945 and 1955, and for Liberation Day for the generations born after 1955. Moreover, for citizens with a non-Western origin, participating in national days is associated with national belonging more strongly than for citizens with a native Dutch or other Western background. These findings highlight the importance of paying attention to potential group differences in the association between participation in national days and feelings of national belonging.

On the causal relationship between participation in national commemorations and feelings of national belonging

“…(1 = not at all -5 = very important). b Coopmans, Lubbers, and Meuleman (2015) found that for citizens with a non-Western origin, participating in national days is associated with national belonging more strongly than for citizens with a native Dutch background. That might explain the non-significant relation between being an immigrant and feelings of national belonging in this study.…”

“…Many stimulating studies have empirically demonstrated the positive relationship between participation in national ceremonies and feelings of national belonging (Coopmans, Lubbers, and Meuleman 2015;Fozdar, Spittles, and Hartley 2015;Lubbers and Meuleman 2016;Meuleman and Lubbers 2013). These studies are based on cross-sectional data (feelings of national belonging and participation in national commemorations are measured at the same point in time) and, as a result, they do not provide information on the direction of the relationship between participation in national commemorations and feelings of national belonging.…”

“…2 It has also been shown that another important national symbol, the national anthem, evokes national associations (Gilboa and Bodner 2009). In general, national symbols have the ability to visualize the nation and remind the people of why they belong together as a nation (Coopmans, Lubbers, and Meuleman 2015). National commemorative rituals can, furthermore, help to increase national attachment by drawing attention to a shared past.…”

“…It is those basic values that attach individual members to the nation state. A famous example in this regard is French rites on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity which remind the citizens of the allegedly unifying fact of French nationhood (Connerton 1989).…”

“…Coopmans, Lubbers, and Meuleman (2015) have argued that strong research designs are needed in order to draw firm conclusions about the direction of the relationship between participation in national commemorations and feelings of national belonging. In this study we collected data both before the start of the ceremony on Remembrance Day and after the ceremony ended.…”