I’ll be Amsterdamned – It’s Queens Day!

Queen Wilhelmina herself.

The celebration of Queens Day in the Netherlands is one of the country’s largest. Originally called “Princess Day,” it was established to commemorate the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, who was born August 31, 1885 – after her coronation in 1891 the holiday’s name was changed to match the new title of its patron. Queens Day quickly became a popular and widely observed holiday as it not only honored the queen’s day of birth, but also marked the last day of summer vacation for children and scholars across the nation. Just picture it – everyone in the country coming together to get jacked up one last time before hitting the books for another long year…and to celebrate their queen’s b-day. It’s a beautiful thing, yes.

However, when the egocentric Queen Juliana inherited the throne in 1948 she decided she too needed some props for being born, and changed the date of Queens Day to her birthday, April 30. Thus, here we are today, when Queens Day festivities are celebrated every year on the thirtieth day of the fourth month – unless happens to be a Sunday, in which case the pious Dutch get freaky on Saturday April 29th instead. (Nobody wants to be hung over on Monday.)

So, you say, what’s the big deal about Queens Day? I guess you could say it’s comparable to the 4th of July in the US – it is supposed to be a day of national pride, unity and solidarity. People all across the country show their Dutchness by wearing the color orange in homage to the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family and a crucial element in the Netherlands gaining independence from Spanish rule.

"Bring 'yer shit to the free market!"

Bright and early at 6am on April 30, the free markets open, and these markets are one of the biggest and most-loved traditions that come along with Queens Day. In American lingo, the free markets are basically one hu-normous garage sale right there on the streets of the city. Anybody that’s trying to make a buck can clean out their belongings and put anything they wish up for sale – from furniture to electronics to used curling irons to broken toys. Everyone comes out, whether they’re selling their shit,  looking for some, or just wandering around to take in the scene.

Faith and Begorrah and pass me the Jameson.

Every year on March 17, people across the world take time to celebrate the holy feast day of St. Patrick with reverence, solemnity and dignity. More often than not, these people are celibate. (Click here.)

Play this song while you are reading the rest of the post – you’ll be THAT much more excited for tomorrow.

Seriously, though – we all know St. Paddy’s Day is a time to celebrate. March 17 is a public holiday in Ireland and was seen in the past as a one-day break in the Lenten season of forbearance – meaning you wouldn’t plummet to hell if you had a drink. Thus, the consumption of alcohol on St. Patrick’s feast day became somewhat of a tradition that has been shared worldwide. For the United States, Australia and other countries with a large Irish population, the Feast Day of St. Patrick was originally observed as a day for honoring their Irish heritage by eating traditional Irish fare, having parades, drinking too much and jumping into a green river. Luckily for us, things haven’t changed much.

Color Me Good: The Festival of Holi

Courtesy of The Big Picture

India is one colorful land from the food down to the fabric, but at the start of Spring, it’s as though the Skittles rainbow explodes over the streets for the Hindu festival of colors, Holi. While Americans plaster their homes in pastels and prepare to consume Peeps, Indians get to the down business with brights, welcoming the Spring season and celebrating the triumph of good over evil.

Traditionally celebrated in late February- early March, Holi can be traced back to several years before Christ. The history behind it is pretty standard; we’ve got an evil king and his crazy sister and of course, a monkey god that manages to swallow the sun. Commence short history lesson.

Ritualistic Bonfire on the Eve of Holi (photo: boston.com/bigpicture)

Legend has it that a bad king had a kind-hearted son, Prince Prahlad, that was meant to save the land from his father’s ill-treatment. Enter king’s sister, Holika, who believes she is immune to fire.  Deranged Holika decides to kill the prince by sitting with him in a giant fire, a plan that probably would have gone over better if the Lord Krishna didn’t save the kid and she was in fact flame retardant. On the eve of Holi, people light ritualistic bonfires and burn images of Holika while hootin’ and hollerin’ in celebration of her demise.

Oh Mercé, Mercé Me – Barcelona’s La Mercé Festival

The festival of La Mercé is one near and dear to the hearts of these Festers, as it celebrates the patron saint of our home sweet study abroad home, Barcelona. As with many long-celebrated festivals, La Mercé is rooted in legend. The following anecdote details the origins of this Saint’s relationship to the great city, so to get the most out of it, please narrate in your best elderly British man accent. Begin.

Long ago in the year 1218, while the religious crusades raged on between Christians and Moors, a strange and wonderful anomaly occurred that would shape the history of Catalonia. Three Barcelona men – King Jaume I, Sant Piere Nolasc and Sant Ramón de Penyafort all woke one morning after having experienced  the same vision of the Virgin of La Mercé. Appearing before them in the dark of night on September 24, she beseeched the men to save their imprisoned Christian brethren from the hands of the Muslims by creating an order of monks dedicated to that purpose. Acting upon this simultaneous apparition, the men established The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy to preserve their religion and people – and yes, to please la Virgen.

Welcome. Bienvenidos. Bienvenue. Willkommen.

Photo courtesy of: The Big Picture

Well now, isn’t it a pleasure to see you here!

Welcome to Best of Fest, your funkadelic destination for festival exploration. We are your fest-tastic guides, Lauren and Shayna, and we’ll be holding you hostage on a trip through the world’s best festivals. Please fasten your safety belt,  keep hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times, and remember that objects in beer goggles are uglier than they appear.

So grab an adult beverage, cozy up and let the fest investigating begin!

Keep it festive,
Shayna & Lauren