Very very Drents, in fact, very location-specific, is the so-called Sint Pieter balslaan. Abel Darwinkel explains: “February 22 is St. Peter’s day. There is a funny Drenthe tradition in Oosterhesselen and Gees, where they play ball. A custom of young, newly married couples. The children of the village come to the home of the newly married man, throw a ball and the man has to hit it away. Also sweets and centerij are involved. Very local. That is pure Oosterhesselen and Gees and nowhere else.”
‘Shooting nuts’, says almost no one, Abel Darwinkel (who does the interview in Drenthe Toen in Drents): ‘Neutenschaiten is a game that is still played in the Groningerland and also in Drenthe, at Easter. You have an iron ball , the notes are in a row, and on the side are pennies or extra notes, just what you agreed on what you play for. And from a distance you have to shoot the notes. But only the front notes. If the front one stays down and you only shoot the sixth, seventh or eighth, then you have to put in money and then you get nothing. But if you shoot the first one and there is some money or other nuts next to it, you can take that.” Like here, almost all spring traditions have to do with fertility, “because a note is the announcement of spring.”
(text continues after photo)