It’s the Queen’s Birthday* and I’ve nothing to wear!
japra | Oct 31, 2009 | Comments 30
The sky getting in the Koninginnedag spirit.
Ok, so I’m a little ahead of myself. I mean Koninginnedag or Queen’s Day is on April 30th–six months away. I certainly have enough time to pull together something fabulous for the occasion, right?
The thing is, I’ve got to find something that doesn’t make me look like a pumpkin. It seems that the Dutch show their national pride by donning a colour I rarely wear: orange. Nope, it has nothing to do with being “dynamic”, “stimulating”, “vital”, “creative” or “spicy”–all those things the colour orange is supposed to conjure up. In this instance, “orange” refers to the symbolic colour of the Dutch Royal family–the House of Orange-Nassau.
Anyway, from what I’ve read, Koninginnedag sounds like a fun celebration. In a way it reminds me of the the Fourth of July back in the States, with maybe a little carnival thrown in for good measure. Lots of national flags and a day-long party. There are parades, games, music festivals, and even a vrijmarkt, or free market, where people can sell whatever they like on the streets. THAT should be interesting, huh?
Obviously, since we’ve only lived here since June, I don’t have any photos of Queen’s Day to share with you. But why not hop over to Flickr and check out the pics there? When you’re done, be sure to come back here, ok? Because I’m going to send you to England next to visit with my good friend Emm in London who will tell you about Guy Fawkes Day.
Oh, and if you have any ORANGE ideas for me, I’d love to hear them ;-)
This post was written for World Blog Surf Day, sponsored by the fabulous Sher of Czech Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Sher!
*Queen Beatrix, the current queen of the Netherlands, was born on January 31 but celebrates her official birthday on April 30, which was her mother’s birthday (Queen Juliana).
Filed Under: Blog • Featured • Netherlands
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
I think for the ORANGE look you need a completely orange outfit and orange wig :) I love the Flickr pictures. I was going to talk about Queen’s day too but the only one I have experience of is last years and it was a pretty sad day.
Mub is supposed to be linking you but she hasn’t (yet) made an entry so I’ll link you from my blog. Blogger is down at the moment but when I get back on I’ll do it :-)
Lily, I remember that :-( We were really focused on the Netherlands because of our move and couldn’t believe what we saw on the news. I hope next year’s event will be safe and fun. Thanks for the link-around! I haven’t made my rounds yet (it’s Tuesday–sigh).
What a great photo of the sky! We have a college sports team in America called “The Orangemen”. I wonder if it’s related to the Netherlands. It’s great to hear your enthusiasm for World Blog Surf Day!
Karen, which college is that? University of Texas is BURNT orange, but I don’t think that’ll fly here ;-) Thanks for stopping by on WBSD!
Believe it or not, someone from flickr jumped to mind….this girl was in Small Magazine for her pics from that holiday…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23045075@N02/3551231328/
Do they have thrift stores there? Here, it would be so easy to buy an old prom/bridesmaid dress and dye it orange – just go all out tacky.
I LOVE your sky picture.
OMG. That is SO it! I am going to look for an orange cowboy hat when I’m in Texas over Christmas. Or just find one and spray paint it orange. That’s hilarious!
You know, I haven’t seen thrift stores here… but it takes me a little while to notice these some things ;-)
I used to live in San Angelo TX, home of The Angry Orange. I do wear orange but mostly silly stuff like orange socks for Halloween. Not terribly respectful for HRH.
Maureen, erm, I don’t think “respectful” is exactly what the folks have in mind here. LOL! I didn’t know you used to live in Texas!!
I think that you will enjoy Koninginnedag next year :)
BBE
Thanks, BBE! I hope it will be a peaceful one. Fun, but peaceful.
Hmmm, yes orange can be a difficult colour to wear. My only advice would be to “accessorize,” daaahling!
That is a great idea, Judy. That I can do!!
Oh that is a gorgeous photo, you’ve done it again, another masterpiece! Happy Halloween! L’s having a party and K is going to one!
Thanks, Christine! Well, mother nature does all the work ;-)
Queen’s Day is crazy, I absolutely love it! It’s way better than the 4th of July, although I do miss Independence Day BBQs.
Mub, I can’t wait to see it all! And oh my, I do miss BBQ (I’m from Texas!!). Is there a special food that is served during Queen’s Day? I heard even the food is orange!
Queen’s Day sounds like a fun holiday! But one thing..orange would definitely not go with my strawberry blond hair…though the color is nice and bright…I mean orange (not my hair!) :0) Thanks for sharing!
Have a great day,
Sher :0)
Hi Sher! Thanks for organising another great World Blog Surf Day! As for your hair… Perhaps an orange wig?! LOL
Orange?! Hmmm, I’ll look out for something for you (does a shade of peach count?)
From what I’ve seen in the photos, the oranger the better! I tend to prefer the peachy or salmony oranges myself, though ;-)
I hope you enjoy your first Koninginnenacht/dag. The orange is somewhat optional. You could always go for an orange inflatable crown!
Thanks, Alison! I think an inflatable crown sounds like the perfect thing :-) I take it the stores offer all sorts of things in the weeks before Queen’s Day?
It’s always amused me that orange is the official color of Holland. Today I was cleaning out my wardrobe (and shuffling around the winter/summer clothes) and I got rid of the only orange thing I own: a sweater. I would save it for you, but I don’t think it will be quite right for April.
That sky is spectacular.
I like orange, but it does make me feel pumpkinish. I’ve unearthed my winter things too. I laugh when I do this, remembering I simply wore the same things for all four seasons back in Houston. ;-)
Definitely go for one of the orange inflatable crowns! I have been coveting one myself since I saw a picture on another blog :D
I hope you had a great WBSD!
Emmanuelle
Emmanuelle, I am going to be doing some serious orange shopping right before Queen’s Day. Inflatable crown is already on the list ;-)
that’s what i remember so much about holland – the incredible skies!
PD, it’s nice to have some sky variations. In England it was either blue or grey–LOL!
Hahahaaa…just wait till March. You’ll get crazy of alllll the (extreme) stuff you can buy to wear for Q-day. I hope to be in NL on that day. Oooh, I wish you so much fun in advance.
Carmie, I can’t wait to see all of the orange merchandise! And actually, my daughter and I went into the Centrum to find some orange jeans for school. Nothing! I presume we’ll have more luck in March. I will report!