Some countries are, in common usage, referred to by more than one name. Thus, we speak as well of "England", "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" to designate the large island located on the other side of the Channel. The same applies to another country, bordering Belgium and Germany. A Frenchman will call it "Holland" or "Netherlands", depending on the case. And its inhabitants will be called "Dutch" or "Dutch". In fact, we take there, as we do for England, the part for the whole.
Indeed, Holland refers to provinces of the Netherlands, so named because of their very low altitude. Specifically, there are two provinces of this name, North Holland and South Holland. This way of taking the part for the whole is a figure of speech called "synecdoque". It allows, for example, to designate the whole house by the use of the single word "roof".
It is therefore not correct, in principle, to use the word "Holland" to refer to the Netherlands. And yet, it must be noted that these two words are interchangeable. Until very recently, the Dutch authorities themselves were able to live with this. But this emphasis on a single part of the country did not reflect its diversity and the richness of all its components. Therefore, the government has decided, as of 1 January 2020, that the only term "Netherlands" will henceforth be used, to the detriment of the word "Holland". This implies modifications, especially to the pediment of all public buildings.
To accompany the promotion of the only name chosen, henceforth, to designate the country, an official logo was chosen. It depicts an orange tulip, adorned with the letters NL. A double symbol of the Dutch nation: a flower known, abroad, as the very symbol of the Netherlands and the color of the ruling dynasty, the Oranges. This whole "marketing" campaign, designed to impose this name of "Netherlands", will have cost, in total, some 200,000 euros to Dutch taxpayers.
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