Queen Beatrix's day: Singing and dancing in the rain.

Koninginnedag, Queen's day. I used H.M.'s name in the title to make clear that it's not a gay pride or queer's day. It used to be the celebration of the queen's birthday (the late queen Juliana) but since queen Beatrix birthday is in January, she decided to keep it on April 30.

The whole country turns into an orange and red-white-blue carnaval. (The royal dynasty of Orange and the Dutch flag.) Everywhere garage sales and street markets ar held and it's the day all breweries have empty warehouses. The country is one big party! Some eldery people still have an Orange Bitter to toast with but beer is flowing continuously. Every cafe has a mobile draft outdoor. The music cacaphony enhances the mood! But the whole royal familly goes to visit a village and a neerby town. Wanna see wooden shoes? This is the day! There are still a few villages where - less and less by the year - some older people do wear traditional clotes every day, but it's the day that all still existing costumes were taken down from the attic. And of course, what do you do in those clothes? So all traditional, folkloristic - often very local - things are brushed up too!

Last year, near the end of the royal visit to Apeldoorn, a young man drove his car full speed throug the waiving and chearing people, killing 7 and himself crashing into a monument just meters away of the royal cauch. It was live on tv and within an hour or two, all celebrations and parties were cancelled. Was this the end of Queen's day? No, of course not. But it was clear that security would be raised to a real high level. Road blocks, car free streets, body guards, c.c. camera surveillance, uniformed police every 20 m. ... a very un-dutch situation. Nevertheless, all costumes and wooden shoes and antiques were bright and shining as every year. All the children choires, brass and other bands ready for the arrival of the royal familly... when for the first time in years, the rain was pooring down. But! With or without umbrellas, none would spoil the party, not even the weather gods! We had already some tunderstorms during the night and thus, we had "Singing and dancin' in the rain!" for the first half of the day... and the beer is flowing as usual again. The real Dutch spirit! ;) So let me finish this, find some orange things and on to the eldery home to have my yearly glass of Orange Bitter! :) I will reply to this later today with links to the newsflahes If you like to see wooden shoes, Belgian Breed horse riding (without sadle) and some Zeeland's traditional costumes or just the parties.


here is the first one: http://nos.nl/video/154220-koninklijke-familie-van-wemeldinge-naar-middelburg.html