This past Monday, April 27th, the Netherlands celebrated the birthday of their King, Willem-Alexander. Typically a raucous affair starting at night on the 26th, COVID changed the way the Dutch celebrated their monarch.
Before CoronaVirus threw a wrench into the whole shindig, King's Day consisted of vibrant street parties, Amersterdam's canals filled with festive boats on parade, a sprawling free market where people sold their knick-knacks and odds-and-ends, and street vendors lining every street ready to cater to the hungry masses. The streets were awash with a million people dressed from head-to-toe in orange, due to the Dutch royal family bearing the name House of Oranje, in a show of Dutch pride that celebrates more than just their royal family, but their country as a whole. You could find a delicious pastry, called tompouce, filled to the brim with cream and (only on King's Day) decorated with, you guessed it, orange icing. I don't know about you, but I want to get my hands on one of these bad boys ASAP. They sound delicious! In the night leading up to King's Day, you could find revelers packing clubs, bars, and pubs to capacity eager to start the celebrations, with some ultra-enthusiastic partiers going straight on through til the morning.
This year the streets were quiet, clubs and bars shuttered long before the 27th, and the boats were docked. However, that didn't stop people from celebrating! Flags hung in windows, the national anthem played in homes at 10am, I'm assuming everyone was still donning orange in celebration, live streams of home performances were given and a local station called AT5 was airing compilations of past celebrations. People danced in their homes with their families to the online DJs and concerts available, played virtual BINGO, participated in quizzes and competitions through the wonders of the internet, and could even shop at a digital free market! It's really amazing what technology can do to bring people together at a tie when we're required to be so far apart.
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