Amsterdam at Queen's Day

Drummers, 2010

I attended my first Queen's Day in 2007. I had never heard of it before, but Dutch friends told me of the day off and a little bit about what it means. Basically, it's a celebration of the Queen's birthday. The actual date for it is from the previous queen: the current queen, Beatrix, was born in winter rather than the far more convenient early spring date of 30 April.

It affects the whole country. It's fun. The Queen and the royal family get out and visit a different part of the country each time and take part in various fun-fair type activities. Even not-really-monarchists like me appreciate just how nice that is...

I went to Queen's Day in Amsterdam in 2007, 2009 and 2010. It's the big city, and the place goes wild. Early on people dressed in orange (the Dutch national colour) start to crowd the streets and canals. Thumping dance music competes quite happily with the rarely heard Dutch pop and rock.

Dutch people set up little street stalls to sell odds and ends they've collected during the year; or food like pancakes, koekjes (cookies), cupcakes...

There's a Dutch word that captures it: gezellig. And it is.


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