This week was the start of our two week holiday for
May break. This meant no placement, no
classes and two weeks off to relax and enjoy the spring sunshine.
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| Celebrating with some of the girls |
Even though we were
excited to have a few days off to relax the real excitement was brewing for a
special occasion that was happening in The Netherlands. This special occasion was Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag). Queen’s day is a national holiday in The
Netherlands that commemorates the
birthday of the Queen. The Dutch people
have been celebrating Queen’s day on 30th April since 1949 when
Queen Juliana was on the throne. However
the current Queen is Queen Beatrix who succeeded Juliana in 1980 but decided to
keep Queen’s Day on April 30th (even though her own birthday is on
31st January). One of the main
reasons behind keeping the celebrations on April 30th was that there
would be good weather for everyone to be able to enjoy the day outside in the
sun.
Ever since we arrived in The Netherlands people had been talking
about Queen’s Day and informing us about what happens on this day. Based on what we had heard and pictures we
had seen we thought that everybody dresses in Orange and everything turns into
a big party to help the Queen celebrate her birthday (and yes we were right). To add to the celebrations this was also
going to be the last Queen’s Day for good few years as Queen Beatrix was
stepping down from the throne allowing her son Willem- Alexander to become
King.
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| Some of our group all dressed up |
When the 30th of April arrived we all got up early
and started the process of turning ourselves orange. From orange clothes, to orange face paint to
orange hair we all looked the part and were ready for a day full of
celebrations (getting ready for the day ended up in a bundle of laughs when one
of the boys painted himself all orange and then found out that the paint he had
used may have been waterproof). As this was a big day of celebrations in The
Netherlands we decided not to go to Amsterdam because on a normal day Amsterdam
is very busy never mind on one of the biggest celebrated day in Dutch culture. Instead our Erasmus group decided to go to
Eindhoven to celebrate the day. When we
arrived in Eindhoven we were amazed to see all the different activities that
were taking place. Everything and everyone
was dressed in orange and there was music blasting from everywhere in the
street. It was amazing to see how
everyone came together to celebrate such a special day. It made me think about how people might feel
when they come to Ireland and witness St. Patrick’s Day.
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| The street in Eindhoven |
We celebrated Queen’s day long into the night with the
celebrations ending at the Canal beside Vossenveld. It really was one of those experiences that I
will never forget and as it was celebrated with an amazing group of people it
will always remain one of my most cherished memories. Dave Brenner states that “ Friends are the most important part of your
life. Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter, but most importantly, treasure
the memories”.
It was such a good day that we have even thought about coming back to the Netherlands to
celebrate King’s Day in the future.
References
Brenner, D. Available at: http://www.desktop-quotes.com/friendship-and-memories-quotes.html
(last accessed 04/05/13)
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