Sun, 22 November 2009
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Most countries with royalty celebrate their monarch's birthday with pomp and ceremony. The Dutch, in contrast, hold a giant open-air market.
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Queen Beatrix - then and now |
Every inch of the pavement in every city, town and village in the country is taken up with people squatting on rugs and plastic selling off mostly useless but strangely intriguing bric-a-brac.
Well-used (broken) children's toys, chipped china crockery, vacuum cleaners and Hi-Fi systems that were state-of-art when Elvis was still playing Vegas — all this and much more is on offer at very low prices. And all the while semi-professional and terrible amateur bands blast out what passes for music from just about every street corner.
This year is no different, with the Queen's birthday being celebrated on Monday 30 April.
Market
Koninginnedag - or Queen's Day - is the one day a year that ordinary folk are allowed to set up shop on the sidewalk without a trading licence. A good thing too, as most of the bargains bought on Queen's Day will either end up in the garbage by 1 May, or be stashed away in an attic or garage until next year's festivities.
Traditionally in the days running up to Queen's Day, strange boxes are sectioned off on pavements around the country and marked with the word "Bezet", or occupied.
To the uninitiated, these markings in chalk or tape may appear to be some kind of bizarre crop circles. They are not, they are just an example of the assertiveness of the Dutch – if you want to sell items on Queen's Day you have to mark out your territory well in advance.
The Dutch are very assertive when it comes to free trade, but not so interested in tidying up afterwards, so that the "Bezet" markings tend to linger on long after Queen's Day and for months after that.
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