Koningsdag

We started to notice some subtle orange changes around our town and in the shop windows...

 Even the manequins had something orange to wear...

 And there was even orange hanging in the sky...

Of course, there is any excuse to do a dab!:)

 It turns out while I went back to visit my parents last week to see my mom and attend my dad's retirement party...

Gift from us for my dad to record all of his retirement travels.:)

mom and me

Just before heading off to Dad's retirement party with my parents, little brother, Andrew and his fiance, Hima

 That there is a huge celebration happening in The Netherlands on April 27...and everyone wears the color ORANGE!!!!

 It is a national holiday here to celebrate King Wilhelm-Alexander's birthday which happens to be...you guessed it...on April 27th!!  the celebration used to be knows as Koninginnedag (Queens's day) and celebrated on April 30 (her birthday) while Queen Beatrix was the queen, but in 2013, she abdicated the throne to her son, King Willem- Alexander, and now the celebration has moved to April 27 for his birthday.:)  I was sad to miss this huge Dutch celebration, but so enjoyed my time in the US with my family there.  Guy did a great job of taking care of the kids last week and took them out to see what the celebration was all about.:) You can click here to read more about this celebration.



Some may be wondering,"Why wear orange when the Dutch flag is red, white and blue?"  The orange color is the color of the Dutch royal family and dates back to the House of Orange.  William the First, from the House of Orange, organized the Dutch revolt against Spain and after the 80 years war, The Netherlands won its freedom from Spain. He became " The Prince of Orange" in 1544 and is an ancestor of the Dutch Royal family.  For more information on William of Orange, click here.  For more info on why the color orange is so important in The Netherlands, click here.

 

 It turns out that there are a lot of festivities happening all over Holland on Koningsdag from food, children selling items they have made or used items, and lots and lots of people watching.  Jeremy and Elizabeth found some neat treasures....who can say no to a Transformer Xbox game that only costs 1 euro??  Why not buy two used "squishy" stuffed animals???:)

Guy and the kids had lot of fun during the celebration and met some friends in the City Center.:)   Just another fun tradition we have learned about during our time in The Netherlands!:)

Doei!:)