What is Kings Day ?
If you are new to the country, you will have noticed that the 27th of April is a public holiday throughout the country, and you will also have seen that everyone and everything is dressed in orange.
This is all due to the celebration of King Willem-Alexander birthday, for this date the whole country dresses in orange, street markets are set up where they sell without any restrictions.
Kings Day is a national holiday in the Netherlands that celebrates the birthday of the reigning monarch. It is celebrated on April 27th, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. The day is marked with a variety of festivities, including street parties, parades, and concerts. The day is also known as Koningsdag, which translates to King's Day. 
The celebration of Kings Day began in 1885, when Queen Wilhelmina was born. The day was originally known as Prinsessedag, or Princess Day, and was celebrated on August 31st. After Wilhelmina became Queen in 1890, the day was renamed Koninginnedag, or Queen's Day, and moved to April 30th, the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina.
When King Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne in 2013, the day was renamed Kings Day and moved to April 27th, his birthday. On Kings Day, the Dutch royal family visits a different city each year, and the streets are filled with orange-clad revelers. The day is also marked with flea markets, music festivals, and other festivities.
But why all orange you may ask? Well here's the explanation, the Dutch royal family is called the House of Oranje. This makes it the national color of the Netherlands. As far as you can see all the shops and most of the people dress in orange, wear orange wigs or make-up, decorate their houses in orange, eat some orange sweets, drink an orange drink which I will tell you more about. Everything orange.
Orange Bitter This drink was first brewed in the 17th century, but gained popularity in 1814, during the time of King Willem van Oranje. Now a symbol of national pride, it is a must on King's Day and is served in several places on King's Day.
A characteristic and very important feature of this celebration are the markets. All over the country on this day, people are allowed to sell goods and food on the streets without the permission of the authorities. Many people take advantage of the day to sell their second-hand goods, play music, dance or entertain passers-by, and we can find bathrooms for rent in houses.
Two years ago the King's birthday was celebrated here in our city, the King together with the Queen and her daughters were visiting the hightech campus and held different activities. Unfortunately due to the restrictions of Covid 19 the whole celebration took place online, our children as expat kids in eindhoven were part of this great event by means of a video for the king check our article about this .
https://silviaardilalovebygrace.com/blogs/blog/the-kings-birthday-in-the-netherlands-what-is-this
Kings Day is a day of celebration and unity for the Dutch people, and is a reminder of the country's rich history and culture.
Now that you know the story, it's time to dress in orange and go out and share with your neighbours, friends and celebrate the king's day. I nuevaexpat mama already dressed up with my baby and husband to go visit some places in our city....
See you in the next article.