(Warning: picture overload!!!!)

Good morning you all!
Today is queensday
in the Netherlands
and although the sun
isn’t shining, I will
spend the afternoon
outside trying to score
some useful goodies
on the giant flee market!

For you foreigners
who have no idea
what “queensday”
in the Netherlands
is all about, and for
you Dutchies who
want to have a good
laugh… you have to
have a look at this!!!!

(but you may want to watch when your children are out of the room!!!)

And the first photo in my post today shows the tree in our front yard
bursting with blossom.

..

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Why should I try to explain to you what Queens Day in the Netherlands is all about, when sombody else (Shannon McAllister) can do that a lot better! So I copied the following text for you all from the site “goamsterdam.about.com”

“On April 30, the Dutch celebrate Koninginnedag (“Queen’s Day”), a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of the country’s (former) Queen. It is by far the most widely celebrated holiday in the Netherlands. Amsterdam festivities in particular rival those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans or New Year’s Eve in New York City. As such, Amsterdam is packed to the gills on April 30, welcoming up to two million party-going visitors.

Every year Queen Beatrix visits one or two Dutch towns to greet her country’s people and visitors, who receive her with fitting celebrations. What began as a commemoration of the Dutch Royal Family has evolved into a nationwide day of creative, carefree springtime revelry.

Orange cake…. yummy???

The first time I saw the Dutch national soccer team playing in the World Cup, I wondered — as many people do — “What’s the deal with all the fans wearing orange?” The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue — there’s no orange at all. So what’s the Netherlands’ relationship (make that borderline obsession) with the color orange?

Alot of people dress in orange on Queens Day

The answer: Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty — the House of Oranje-Nassau — dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.”

‘Till so far the explanation….

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