Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) - 30 April 2008

[Marengo]

On April 30th there will be another Queensday, this time celebrqated by the RF in Franeker and Makkum in Friesland. Post all the information about this day in this thread.

Look at the previous ones here:

Koninginnedag 2007
Koninginnedag 2006
Koninginnedag 2005
Koninginnedag 2004
Koninginnedag 2003
Koninginnedag 2002

[Marengo]

The Labour Union threatens that the police will go on strike during Queensday. in Franeker and Makkum. If they will the day will have to be cancelled.

Read an article in Dutch here.

[Marengo]

More information in Dutch about Queensday on the website of the RF, here.

[Empress]

It would be a real pity if the day needed to be cancelled by some selfish union. It's not as if they will have a second chance in that city to welcome the RF on Koninginnendag. It's generally quite an honor to host the Queen and her family, and necessarily it brings in some extra income to the cities in question.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Empress

It would be a real pity if the day needed to be cancelled by some selfish union. It's not as if they will have a second chance in that city to welcome the RF on Koninginnendag. It's generally quite an honor to host the Queen and her family, and necessarily it brings in some extra income to the cities in question.

They won't.I think.They would not dare to jeopardise a national event of this magnitude.

Btw,they don't have to complain with what was offered to them anyway,they got their money's worth.
A lot of mucho macho "big talk" by a group that is never around when you really need them anyway.

If they wouldn't be on duty,refuse to,on Koninginnedag,the Royal Constabulary Force,Marechaussee,
will take over their duty,they are responsible for the safety/protection of the RF.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Empress

It would be a real pity if the day needed to be cancelled by some selfish union. It's not as if they will have a second chance in that city to welcome the RF on Koninginnendag. It's generally quite an honor to host the Queen and her family, and necessarily it brings in some extra income to the cities in question.

News is that the unions have agreed with the offer,so the agreement is expected to be signed within a short time.No strikes

[lucien]

Originally Posted by lucien

News is that the unions have agreed with the offer,so the agreement is expected to be signed within a short time.No strikes

Ah,now all the police unions,NPB and ACP,have agreed,not all that happily,but agreed nonetheless,so definitely no strikes or other nonsense on our Koninginnedag.

[Marengo]

This ANP photospecial shows pictures of Makkum and Franeker in Friesland, where HM an her family will spend Queensday.

For those who will spend Queenday in Amsterdam (like myself) here the website of the event.

Here the special website of Franeker about Queensday, and more information about the visit. And here the one of Wunseradiel (where Makkum is).

Wikipedia has some information on the traditional Queenday too, which is in the public domain so I will post the text completely:

Queen's Day (Dutch: Koninginnedag) is a celebration in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba on April 30 (or April 29th if the 30th is a Sunday). Originally a celebration of the queen's birthday, it is now mainly known for the 'vrijmarkt' (literally 'freemarket'), the one day in the year that anyone is allowed to sell anything in the streets and 'koninginnenacht' (Queen's Night) on the preceding night. It is also a Dutch holiday.
It started as a celebration of the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962), on August 31. After 1948 Koninginnedag moved to April 30 (the birthday of Queen Juliana). When Queen Beatrix succeeded Juliana on jan 30, 1980, she decided to keep the holiday on April 30th as a tribute to her mother. Furthermore, the weather on her own birthday (January 31st) tends to prohibit the traditional outdoor festivities. April 30th, however, is renowned for having very pleasant weather.
During the reign of Queen Juliana, and the Queen would welcome people who came to the Soestdijk Palace. The Queen and her family would stand on a dais, and a long line of citizens would walk past, congratulating her and presenting her gifts. These days, Queen Beatrix visits one or two towns where she is shown traditional Dutch dances and demonstrations of old crafts.
This is a typical occasion for oranjegekte (orange craze), when the colour orange is a ubiquitous sight, referring to the name of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange. There are orange banners, orange colored foods and drinks, and extreme amounts of orange clothing and creative accessories are worn as well. Sometimes even the water in fountains is dyed orange. It is not uncommon for people to impersonate the queen, not always in a flattering manner.

Activities


Freemarket

The so-called 'vrijmarkt' ('freemarket') is similar to a nationwide car boot sale or Flea market. Owing to a holiday dispensation from the Dutch government, people do not need to pay taxes on their sales. Many people set up stalls or blankets in parks, on sidewalks and even on the roads themselves (cars are banned in some streets). The items sold are traditionally old rubbish, but for commercial traders this is also an extremely profitable day. ING bank has estimated the size of the trade in 2007 at about 200 million euros, with the appreoximately 1.8 million sellers making 111 euros on average. The freemarket in Amsterdam attracts the most visitors.
Typically, many children sell their cast-off toys and clothes while entrepreneurs sell food, beverages and almost anything else imaginable. Prices tend to be very negotiable and drop as the day progresses. By the end of the festivities, much of the unsold merchandise is left on the streets to be picked through until it's hauled off by local municipalities shortly after. In Amsterdam, the main streets in the city centre are increasingly being taken over by commercial traders, pushing the intended car boot sale out towards smaller streets and the outer ring of the centre. There are, however, some areas where the original style is preserved. One of these is the Jordaan, a working class neighborhood, where prices are very low because the sale is just an excuse to have a nice day and a friendly chat with complete strangers. Sections of the Jordaan can become so full of pedestrians that they become completely gridlocked, despite the absence of cars. Another is the Vondelpark, which is officially reserved for children. Especially there, but also elsewhere, there are many other activities besides selling second hand goods, such as performing music or providing other entertainment for money.

Party

In recent years, Koninginnedag has become more and more of an open-air party, with many concerts and special events in public spaces, particularly in Amsterdam, which attracts anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 visitors. Many Dutch people living abroad try to make the pilgrimage home (with many 'clued-up' tourists) to experience this holiday each year. Booking accommodations in Amsterdam and elsewhere for Queen's Day is notoriously difficult, requiring booking 6 months or more ahead.
During the preceding 'koninginnenacht' (Queen's Night) many bars and clubs throughout the Netherlands (particularly in Amsterdam and The Hague) hold special events catering to revelers that last all night long. This tradition started in the early nineties when pre-Koninginnedag riots were an increasing problem in The Hague. The idea of convincing the rioters that a celebration is a much better way to spend 'Koninginnenach' (without the 't', as it's pronounced locally), proved successful. The event draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.

A link to the wikipedia article here.

[Paty]

What a beautiful place

Thanks for the info Marengo. It´s interesting the history of this celebration and to know that this date was keep by Queen Breatrix as a tribute to her mother. Also a very nice all the epecial events preparet by the people...I´t seems a really funny party!

Marengo, Does anytime the Royal Family celebrated this day in Aruba or in Netherlands Antilles?

[Marengo]

TNS/NIPO held a survey about Queensday, the results is that

# 60% wants Queensday to be celebrated on April 30th even when WA is king.
# 52% Has a dutch flag
# 35% uses the flag on Queensday

Article in Dutch here.

To Paty: no they never celebrated this on the Antilles or Aruba and I don't think they ever will. It is tradition to watch the Queen and her family on Queensday in the morning, it has been the case since 1950 or so, so if they would celebrate it in the Antilles that would not be possible due to the dtime difference.

[lucien]

On Queensday Ned1 program Profiel will air the "Legacy of Beatrix' at 21.55PM,by Fons de Poel.
He claims the abdication of HM is so "actueel".....yeah,right....

I think,and I've always found,all that hashbash on a possible abdication very rude and ungratefull to the function and the person of HM.As if she's not good enough on "the job".Well,she is,and she's going to be so for a while longer then this de Poel kid would like us to believe.

[lucien]

A flashback to last years Queensday.Do you remember?

ANP Beeldbank

courtesy Royalimages.

[Marengo]

I remember it well, dispite Máxima being absent I think it was one of the most festive queensday celebrations ever. The visit took 1 hour longer than planned in Brabant. I suppose that was only to be expected fromm Brabant of course, always good in parties and such, much better than us stiff northerners.

[Marengo]

According to website zijonline Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette will not be atending the Queensday celebrations this year as they are on holidays.

[giov]

From Belga Picture
Dutch pastry cook is preparing in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 28 April 2008, for the so-called 'Queensday' on April 30, when the Dutch are celebrating the birthday of Queen Beatrix.
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[lucien]

Originally Posted by Marengo

According to website zijonline Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette will not be atending the Queensday celebrations this year as they are on holidays.

Well,she just gave birth and he had an operation,probably due to Crohn's disease,two weeks ago.They both need a good rest more then anything else,and so do their children.