Queen's Day in the Netherlands ( 30 April)

Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Nederlands on 30 April or on 29 April if the 30th is a Sunday. Queen's Day celebrates the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands and is supposed to be a day of national unity and "togetherness".




The tradition started on 31 August 1885, on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Since 1949, after the ascension of Queen Juliana, Queen's Day is Queen Juliana's birthday on 30 April. Although Queen Beatrix's birthday is on 31 January, she officially celebrates her birthday on 30 April. During the preceding 'koninginnenacht' (Queen's Night) many bars and clubs throughout the Netherlands hold special events catering to revelers that last all night long.

Queen's Day is known for its "freemarket" all over the country, where everybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Many people set up stalls or blankets in parks, on sidewalks and even on the roads themselves (cars are banned on some streets). The items sold are traditionally secondhand discards, but for commercial traders this is also an extremely profitable day.

Other activities during Queen's Day are children's games, inividual musical performances and music concerts. The night before Queen's Day is celebrated too in some cities, and this is called Queen's Night. The largest celebration of Queen's Day is in Amsterdam, Queen's Night in The Hague and Queen's Dance in Rotterdam. During the celebrations as reference to the colours of the House of Orange-Nassau, people dress in the colour orange, which is sometimes called "orange craze".

The colour orange is a ubiquitous sight, referring to the name of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange. There are orange banners, orange colored foods and drinks, and extreme amounts of orange clothing and creative accessories are worn as well. Sometimes even the water in fountains is dyed orange. It is not uncommon for people to impersonate the queen, not always in a flattering manner.

Of course there are also people who are dressed in the national colours Red, white and blue.