On Friday 27th of April we celebrate Kingsday (Koningsdag) in The Netherlands. During this day we celebrate our King Willem-Alexander’s birthday. Dressed in orange we will enjoy the festivities together with family and friends.

Our HQ in The Netherlands will remain closed this day! The technical support phoneline can still be reached.

 

About Kings Day

King’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. This day used to be known as Queen’s Day. On 30 April 2013, Queen’s Day, Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother Beatrix and became the first King of the Netherlands in 123 years. Consequently, from 2014 onwards the name has been changed from Queen’s Day to King’s Day. The date has also changed from 30 to 27 April, which is the birthday of Willem-Alexander.

Traditionally on King’s Day (or Queen’s Day) the royal family visits two cities to watch and join the festivities.

Festivities

Dressed in orange many people visit one of the many flea markets (vrijmarkt) in The Netherlands or visit one of the many festivals. Children often celebrate with a variety of games including koekhappen (in which they catch spice cake dangling from a string in their mouths) and spijker poepen (in which they tie string around their waist a nail dangling at one end, which they attempt to lower into a glass bottle)

More about King’s Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koningsdag