π³π±ππ₯ Koningsdag - Get low in the lowlands!
King's Day for the Netherlands - A Colorful Dive into Nederlander Culture.
When you think of the Netherlands, a few icons come to mind: windmills, tulips, and perhaps orange? What about a huge, colorful celebration centered around their love for the color orange?
Welcome to Koningsdag, or King's Day π³π±π
π₯π§‘Queue the music!
As always, play the music first and then read the rest! I recommend Links Rechts!
π₯ Lowlands With High Spirits
Nether means low (like your nether regions!). The Nether-lands is as flat as a pancake, the country's tallest hill is 320m.
Its flatness has led to the widespread use of windmills (initially invented in Persia) which played a crucial role in their economy and land reclamation - using wind power to invent wood saws, pumps and more!
We also have the Netherlands to thank for bright orange carrots, the Mercator projection, fire hoses, dialysis, artificial heart devices, microscopes, CDs, and Bluetooth!
β Dutch
Btw, you may have noticed I havenβt said the word Dutch. That is because Dutch to the locals actually means German/Deutsch. Instead, the people of the Netherlands typically say they are Nederlander.
β Liberal
They are an incredibly liberal society (in regards to drug-use, same-sex marriage and euthanasia for example) and this stems from being a haven for religious freedom - grown out of necessity as it has always been a very densely populated country (it is more densely populated than India!).
π Koningsdag: From Queens to Kings
Koningsdag originated as Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) in 1885 as a royal birthday celebration. Over the years, the occasion adapted to the birthdays of subsequent monarchs. Today, it is celebrated on April 27th in honor of King Willem-Alexander's birthday.
You must wear orange! During Koningsdag, everyone dresses in orange.
The streets are also filled with Nederlanders selling their old belongings, enjoying music, and partying late into the night.
These colorful traditions extends to Dutch territories like Aruba and Curaçao.
π₯ππThe food
The Nederlanders enjoy unique offerings such as pickled herring, liquorice, and Hagelslag (which I canβt believe adults eat - toast with sprinkles!).
Street food stalls during Koningsdag serve up favorite foods like bitterballen (fried meatballs), stroopwafels (waffle-like cookies with caramel filling), and haring (raw herring).
Basically anything that is orange sells!
πΏπ The movies
Want to celebrate Koningsdag from the comfort of your own home? Here are some suggestions to immerse yourself in the Nederlander mythos. Most the movies have some link to the pedigree of artists the Netherlands has created!
Loving Vincent (2017)
Imagining filming a movie, and then deciding to paint every single frame of that movie. That is this. This history of Vincent Van Gogh, painted.
The Danish Girl (2015)
Set in 1920βs Netherlands, watch the journey of one of the first transgender people, Lili Elbe, and her wife Gerda Wegener navigate Netherlander high society.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Scarlett Johansson was only 17 in this film! It is a lilβ slow and it is entirely fictional, but it is a really interesting view of life in 17th century Netherlands.
If you enjoyed this make sure to catch the next one!