Happy Queen’s Day Netherlands!
Today is the biggest celebration of the year in the Netherlands, Queen’s Day or in Dutch, Koninginnedag. The holiday was originally established to celebrate Queen Wilhelmina’s birthday on August 31st, 1880. But in 1948 the date was changed to April 30th and has remained the same since, despite there being a new Queen (Queen Beatrix decided to keep the date intact upon her succession in 1980 as a tribute to her mother, Queen Juliana). On a side note, while the Netherlands is a monarchy, it is much the same here as it is in Britain and most European monarchies where royal family members are basically waving figure heads.
Queen’s Day has become a huge party in the Netherlands, particularly in Amsterdam where upwards of 1 million extra people are here to party in the streets and canals. Queen’s Day is also famous for it’s nationwide open air flee market. Anyone can set up shop in the streets and sell whatever they want, there are particular areas where children sell things as well. People begin marking their territory with chalk days before Queen’s Day so that they can get dibs on ideal selling spots.
I’ll be sure to snap lots of crazy pictures around Amsterdam today and will share them later on in the week, during my Jackass Amsterdam Pictures of the Week post. This one will be dedicated to Queen’s Day and all its nationalist orange colored debauchery! Until then, check out this video from last years Queen’s Day, shot by some drunk people.
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POSTED IN: Amsterdam, Dumbass, Foreigners
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