Come on, Let's Celebrate!

It has been a busy couple of days here in the NL with Queen's Day celebration on April 30th, Remembrance Day on May 4th, and Liberation Day on May 5th. I participated in of them, snapping pictures and taking in the scene as I tried to understand who celebrates national holidays here in Rotterdam (on a city and local level) and how.

To begin, if I have to make one observation about Queen's Day as it is celebrated here in Rotterdam (I experienced both the central festivities along the Coolsingel and Blaak Maarkt - i.e. the main arteries of the city centre- as well as local festivities here in my neighbourhood) is that it's focus may be the Queen but it's goal is to sell, sell, sell! From the wee hours of the morning, rommel maarkt (flea markets) dot the sidewalks on all the busy avenues in the city. Vendors can rent a small stall (Kramptje) or they can lay out a blanket or sheet and display their wares. I imagine haggling over prices must be one of the favourite things to do on this particular day; in addition of course to wearing Orange and painting your face. This is my observation at least for the majority of families. For those who did not have, or are not themselves children, the streets were alive with party-goers as "Queen's Day is an excuse to DRINK!" as I was told by one person on the street. I failed to see any orange beer (like our St. Patty's day green beer) in the crowds so maybe this is something I'll have to try and introduce for next year's celebration!

Following Queen's day is the Remembrence Day dedicated to the Second World War on May 4th. The service in Dam Square in Amsterdam was, if anyone saw the news last night, a bit more eventful than what the organisers had originally planned. News brief: half-way through the two minutes of silence, a man began to scream very loudly which panicked the surrounding crowd and made many people run in fear. This resulted in some injuries and much ado. This is a very interesting reaction to something as 'natural as a scream'. By natural as a scream, I mean that he didn't say anything in particular, just screamed, which is an odd and out of place reaction but at the same time, this man was not brandishing a gun or shouting threats. In my opinion, the crowds' reaction highlights the kind of fear culture that has possibly griped Netherlanders (as with many countries) today. I am going to write a future entry on this particular reaction to this example of asocial behaviour in public space at a later point in time, therefore I will not get into it here. Needless to say, Remembrence Day was observed and many ceremonies were held across the country some of which were more lively than others.

Finally, today was the celebration of the Dutch liberation from Germany during the Second World War, which was celebrated on the plein next to where I live. This year was chosen to be a national holiday, which only happens once every five years, and which I think added to the busyness that I witnessed today. Proceedings began with another rommel markt (left over things from Queen's Day?) and moved into a very lively Drum band, DJ, historical theatre, model show, tai kuan do presentation, children's games, karaoke and much more. It was interesting to see people from the immediate vicinity and from further afield come together to celebrate the liberation of the Netherlands (with help from the Canadians don't forget!). I should not discount however that people could be celebrating the free popcorn that was given out by the local housing corporation.

Whatever the case may be, the end of April and beginning of May period is quite busy with public events that seem to attract much response and participation in public places. These types of gathering have definitely been absent in the winter months and is a welcomed return to public life!