Koninginnedag

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This article is about the national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. For other uses of Queen's Day, see Queen's Day.

Dancing people dressed in orange on the canals of Amsterdam during Queen's Day in 2007

Koninginnedag (pronunciation (help·info)) or Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba 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" (Dutch: saamhorigheid). 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' birthday is on 31 January, she officially celebrates her birthday on 30 April.

Queen's Day is known for its "freemarket" (Dutch: vrijmarkt) all over the country, where everybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Other activities during Queen's Day are children's games, individual musical performances, and music concerts. The night before Queen's Day is celebrated too in some cities, and this is called Queen's Night (Dutch: Koninginnenacht). The largest celebration of Queen's Day is in Amsterdam and of Queen's Night in The Hague. 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" (Dutch: oranjegekte).

1 History
2 Activities
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Queen Wilhelmina's birthday celebrations were the first Queen's Days in the Netherlands

The present-day celebration of Queen's Day was originally intended by the Liberal Union to be a day of national unity in the Netherlands. It started with the celebration of the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina on 31 August 1885. From 1885 to 1890 the celebration was therefore called Prinsessedag or Princess' Day, until the Coronation of Wilhelmina in 1890. Since 31 August 1891 the celebration was called Koninginnedag or Queen's Day. The day was not only the birthday of the Queen, but also the last day of the summer vacation, which made the celebrations popular with children. Unlike her successors, Queen Wilhelmina almost never attended festivities on Queen's Day.^[1]^[2]

In september 1948 Queen Juliana ascended to the Dutch throne and from 1949 onwards Queen's Day was on her birthday on 30 April. When 30 April is a Sunday, Queen's Day is celebrated on 29 April.^[3] On this day, Queen Juliana received a flower tribute at Soestdijk Palace, where she lived.^[1] The Queen and her family would stand on a dais and a long line of citizens would walk past, congratulating her and presenting her gifts and flowers.^{[citation needed]} The parade was broadcasted on national television from the 1950s. When more and more people received a day off from their work, Queen's Day became a national holiday of togetherness (Dutch: saamhorigheid).^[1]

Queen Beatrix speaks with the mayor of The Hague Wim Deetman in Scheveningen during Queen's Day in 2005

When Queen Beatrix succeeded her mother Queen Juliana on 30 April 1980, she decided to keep the holiday on 30 April as a tribute to her mother.^[1] Furthermore for practical reasons, the weather on her own birthday in the winter on 31 January tends to prohibit the traditional outdoor festivities, where 30 April is renowned for having much better weather as it is the beginning of the spring. In contrast to her mother, Juliana, Beatrix decided to go into the country to meet the people, rather than receiving people at here residence. Since her ascencsion to the throne, Queen Beatrix and her family visit one, two, or sometimes three places on Queen's day,^[4] where she is shown regional versions of traditional Dutch dances and demonstrations of old crafts. In 2001, the Queen's Day visits of the Royal Family were canceled as there was worry about maintaining the quarantine measures to control an ongoing outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease^[5]. Queen Beatrix has visited the following cities over the years on Queen's Day:^[4]

1981: Veere and Breda
1982: Harlingen and Zuidlaren
1983: Lochem and Vaassen
1984: The Hague
1985: Anna Paulowna, Callantsoog, and Schagen
1986: Deurne and Meijel
1987: Breukelen
1988: Genemuiden, Kampen, and informally Amsterdam
1989: Goedereede and Oud-Beijerland
1990: Haren and Loppersum
1991: Buren and Culemborg
1992: Rotterdam
1993: Vlieland and Sneek
1994: Emmeloord and Urk

1995: Eijsden and Sittard
1996: Sint Maartensdijk and Bergen op Zoom
1997: Marken and Velsen
1998: Doesburg and Zutphen
1999: Houten and Utrecht
2000: Katwijk and Leiden
2001: Hoogeveen and Meppel (cancelled)
2002: Hoogeveen and Meppel
2003: Wijhe and Deventer
2004: Warffum and Groningen
2005: Scheveningen
2006: Zeewolde and Almere
2007: Woudrichem and 's-Hertogenbosch
2008: Makkum and Franeker

[edit] Activities

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[edit] Orange

People dressed in orange in Amsterdam during Queen's Day in 2007

This is a typical occasion for oranjegekte (orange craze), when 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.

[edit] Freemarket

Freemarket in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam

The so-called 'vrijmarkt' ('freemarket') is similar to a nationwide car boot sale or Flea market. Owing to a holiday dispensation from the Dutch government, people do not need to pay taxes on their sales. Many people set up stalls or blankets in parks, on sidewalks and even on the roads themselves (cars are banned in some streets). The items sold are traditionally old rubbish, but for commercial traders this is also an extremely profitable day. ING bank has estimated the size of the trade in 2007 at about 200 million euros, with the approximately 1.8 million sellers making 111 euros on average. The freemarket in Amsterdam attracts the most visitors.

The sign says 'overthrow the royal house', referring to the pictures of the royal family on the pile of boxes one can throw balls at

Typically, many children sell their cast-off toys and clothes while entrepreneurs sell food, beverages and almost anything else imaginable. Prices tend to be very negotiable and drop as the day progresses. By the end of the festivities, much of the unsold merchandise is left on the streets to be picked through until it's hauled off by local municipalities shortly after. In Amsterdam, the main streets in the city centre are increasingly being taken over by commercial traders, pushing the intended car boot sale out towards smaller streets and the outer ring of the centre.

There are, however, some areas where the original style is preserved. One of these is the Jordaan, a gentrified former working class neighborhood, where prices are very low because the sale is just an excuse to have a nice day and a friendly chat with complete strangers. Sections of the Jordaan can become so full of pedestrians that they become completely gridlocked, despite the absence of cars. Another is the Vondelpark, which is officially reserved for children. Especially there, but also elsewhere, there are many other activities besides selling second hand goods, such as performing music or providing other entertainment for money.

[edit] Party

In recent years, Koninginnedag has become more and more of an open-air party, with many concerts and special events in public spaces, particularly in Amsterdam, which attracts anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 visitors. Many Dutch people living abroad try to make the pilgrimage home (with many 'clued-up' tourists) to experience this holiday each year. Booking accommodations in Amsterdam and elsewhere for Queen's Day is notoriously difficult, requiring booking 6 months or more ahead.

A concert of the Dutch band Leaf in The Hague during Queen's Night in 2008

During the preceding 'koninginnenacht' (Queen's Night) many bars and clubs throughout the Netherlands (particularly in Amsterdam and The Hague) hold special events catering to revelers that last all night long. This tradition started in the early nineties when pre-Koninginnedag riots were an increasing problem in The Hague. The idea of convincing the rioters that a celebration is a much better way to spend 'Koninginnenach' (without the 't', as it's pronounced locally), proved successful. The event draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.