Kingsday, a vibrant orange celebration!
Kingsday is an orange-filled celebration, renowned as one of the biggest and most colorful festivities in the Netherlands.
King’s day or Koningsdag, the national holiday of the Netherlands, is held annually for the Kings birthday on 27 April. In case the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday becomes known as Koninginnedag or Queen’s Day.
KINGSDAY HISTORY:
The roots of King’s Day trace back to 1885. The tradition started as Princess Day, honouring Princess Wilhelmina’s fifth birthday on August 31st. In 1891, the transition to Queen’s Day occurred as Queen Emma passed the throne to her daughter Wilhelmina. Originally celebrated as the closing day of the school holidays, Queen’s Day evolved into a nationwide jubilee by 1902. In 2014, the occasion took on its current name, King’s Day, in homage to King Willem-Alexander’s birthday.
KINGSDAY ACTIVITIES:
As per tradition on Kingsday the royal family visits a municipality that plays a pivotal role in its region. This city pulls out all the stops to create a fun, musical extravaganza together with the royal family.
Surrounding towns and villages are encouraged to showcase their traditions, customs, and defining characteristics. They organize parades and walking tours coupled with musical performances, and offer an inside look at their associations and organizations.
Attend Kingsday Festivals:
It doesn’t matter where you are in the Netherlands, there’s always going to be a King’s Day festival within a comfortable travelling distance.
Explore Flea Markets: On this one day of the year, the ban on free trade lifts, and everyone sets up makeshift shops, haggling mercilessly with everyone in sight.
Drink beer (of course): while public drunkenness is regularly frowned upon, King’s Day makes the practice entirely acceptable, or at least tolerable. And if you’re not into doing any of the activities above, just do nothing. No one can stop you. It’s King’s Day. No one can force you to work!
FLYING PIG’S ACTIVITIES:
On Kingsday you can join our orange celebration! In short: Dutch music, decorations, party games and all sorts of other fun!
