Koningsdag, or the King’s Day, is a national holiday celebrated on April 27th in the Netherlands. This holiday was established as homage to the royal dynasty. Throughout history, the holiday was initially celebrated as “Princess’s Day” on August 21st, which then evolved into “Queen’s Day” on August 31st, and a few years later, it was eventually pushed back to April 30th. With the coronation of King Willem-Alexander in 2014, the holiday moved to April 27th.
During King’s Day, Amsterdam is showered in orange, which is the symbolic color of House Orange-Nassau. Celebrations and feasts are organized throughout the day, and King’s Night is celebrated the night before the holiday in Den Haag.
Various embassies of the Netherlands organize celebrations of this holiday worldwide. In Bosnia, the reception in honor of King’s Day was held at Hotel Europe in Sarajevo on April 27th with a special theme – the 125th anniversary of the death of famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. Seventeen of his most famous works were exhibited at the reception in prints provided by the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam.
Addressing guests, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jurriaan Kraak, said: “Thank you for being here at the celebration of a national holiday of the Netherlands, and for being our friends. This year, the eyes of the world will be on Bosnia. Past years, especially the 1990s, should be buried. The Government, and friends, of the Netherlands are ready to help the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina overcome its obstacles. We are hoping for 2015 to be a year of progression towards EU and NATO integration, as well as towards life in peace. We should share love and friendship among all ethnicities and religions”.
Jakob Finci, BH politician and the representative of the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, attended the reception, and in an interview for Sarajevo Times said:
“This is a traditional reception that the Embassy of the Netherlands organizes to honor the royal family. The Netherlands is our friendly country, despite events from the past. Until now, they have invested around 580 million BAM in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they don’t brag about it, probably because of the feeling of guilt for the things that have happened some time ago. Despite everything, we can be very grateful to the Netherlands“.
Among the representatives from Embassies of many countries who were present at the reception, the Ambassador of the United States to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maureen E. Cormack, evoked the greatest interest of the invitees.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is a beautiful country with breathtaking nature and lovely, welcoming people. I love being here, and I feel sadness when I hear that so many young people wish to leave this country. Something has to be done to stop the brain drain, and make something good for this people“, said Ambassador Cormack.
Written by Emina Rizvic/ photo by ER
