Archive for April, 2010

Queen Beatrix on Queen’s Day

Photograph Wikimedia Commons

Every year, on this day, April 30, the Dutch celebrate Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day). In practice, this means that most cities and towns are filled with orange decorations, flags are hanged from the windows, and all kinds of festivities are organized. The most popular event is the massive garage sale that is organized along the streets. This is the only day of the year that everybody is allowed to sell their stuff on the street without a permit, and many people enthusiastically take advantage of this opportunity.

The Queen and her family actively participate in the festivities, personally visiting and interacting with the Queen’s subjects in a different town every year. However, in the past this was not always the case. This festive day was originally introduced at the fifth birthday of the first Dutch crown princess, Wilhelmina, on August 31, 1885. It was intended to promote a sense of national unity in the young kingdom. When Wilhelmina became Queen in 1898, the day became known as Queen’s Day and was primarily a children’s feast in which the Queen herself did not participate at all.

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