Rusk with mice at the birth of a baby, something that is considered very normal. Pink or blue mice and usually a rusk, but also known as a cake. Almost every Dutch person knows it and immediately links a rusk with mice to the birth of a baby. However, this tradition has a surprising reason, a reason that not everyone would associate with it.
Rusk with mice
The official tradition is to eat a rusk with colored mice in the color characteristic of the gender of the baby. People who do not like rusk often replace the rusk with a cake.
History rusk
Rusk has been popular for centuries and has therefore been eaten for centuries. The Romans took the rusk, also known as biscotum, with them during their journeys. The rusk, which was made by baking the bread a second time, had a long shelf life. Because of this, it has remained very popular over the centuries. During long ship voyages in the time of the explorers it was given the name; ship’s biscuit because it was a household name among explorers. Around 1600, especially in the villages of Wormer and Jisp, rusk was made in one hundred and fifty rusk bakeries. Over the years, the Netherlands has eventually become the ‘rusk center’ of Europe. Strangely enough, before it was linked to birth, rusk was mainly given at funerals, as a symbol of the fragility of life.
History mice
Around the seventeenth century, it was common for postpartum women who needed to gain strength to receive maternity anise. Kraam anise consisted of crushed anise seeds and cinnamon; a drink consisting of wine, eggs, sugar and cinnamon. Since the people who came to visit often received something tasty, they quickly used something from the house that was in the house at the time. That’s thought to be the moment the treat came to life. The visitors were also given maternity anise as a treat with the addition of some extra herbs. It was something that mainly happened to rich people. The poorer people ate white bread with sugar to celebrate the birth of the child.
The sale of the mice was invented by Cornelis Rutgerus De Ruijter. He had a pastry shop in Baarn, where he laid the foundation for De Ruijter’s mice in 1860. He was the first to sell the anise seeds with many layers of sugar on them, creating small white and later also pink balls.
Stamped mice
As mentioned earlier, the mice date from the seventeenth century. The stamped mice were added at the end of the nineteenth century. People thought the mice were delicious, but also a bit on the hard side. A number of older people with dentures came up with the idea of crushing the mice in a mortar. The crushed mice were also edible for them. Because this became increasingly popular, De Ruijter eventually included this in its range.
Birth of Princess Beatrix
The tradition only really became nationally known in 1938. At the birth of Princess Beatrix, De Ruijter presented a very large tin of orange birth mice at Soestdijk Palace. This was a huge marketing stunt and a success, as the tradition was adopted almost throughout the country.
Blue for a boy, pink for a girl
It seems very logical. You see blue mice, so a boy has been born and in pink a girl. However, this has not always been the case. Before 1994 there were only white and pink mice. If a girl was born, you got pink and for a boy you got the normal white.
Other birth traditions
Eating a rusk with mice is the most famous birth tradition in the Netherlands. Yet there are also regions in the Netherlands where a different tradition is used much more often. For example, in Overijssel a gift is given at the birth of a child. A krentenwegge is a large currant loaf, sometimes up to one meter long, and is then given to guests as festive bread.
In southern regions, parents treat the fish to sugar beans after the birth of the child. This is the symbol for fertility and life and dates back to Roman times.