Two important days for the Netherlands have just passed – May 4th was Remembrance Day and May 5th was Liberation Day. If you were in the country, especially in Amsterdam, over these two days then you were probably aware of some of the events taking place and perhaps you even participated in them.
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day or Dodenherdenking is a day commemorating all the Dutch who died in WWII and conflicts worldwide afterwards. It is an official event with a National Remembrance Service held in the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam followed by an evening wreath-laying ceremony in Dam Square, which is nationally televised. At 8pm there is a two minute, nationwide silence. Followed by speeches and wreaths laid by veterans and victims’ relatives. Members of the Dutch Royal Family are also in attendance.
Security was tighter this year at Dam Square and the surrounding area, as you can see in the video below, due to an incident that happened at last year’s event. A panic erupted during the two minutes silence when a man with mental health issues began screaming. Sadly, several people were injured during the disruption. This year everything went as planned.
Liberation Day
Liberation Day or Bevrijdingsdag is a celebration of freedom, marking the end of occupation by Nazi Germany during WWII. Events, readings and exhibitions occur throughout the day. Open air pop festivals occur throughout many Dutch cities and there is a televised concert on the Amstel River in Amsterdam with many top performers. One of the highlights of the concerts is the attendance by the Queen. She leaves the concert via a boat that sails past the crowds.
The tradition between these two events, one serious and reflective followed by another more celebratory day, is quite interesting. NL Planet describes the background as follows:
“In the early years, Remembrance Day reflected a more sombre public mood. All over Holland there were silent processions in memory of fallen local Resistance members and fellow citizens shot by the Germans. Their slogan was “no celebration without commemoration”, so Remembrance Day always fell before Liberation Day. Their well-attended processions contrasted with the rather stuffy, official commemoration in the Hague. It took the Dutch government until the eighties to come up with a unified, national format for the proceedings which in some way emulated the atmosphere of those early local, silent processions.”
Did you attend the concert or participate in any of the other events happening around the country? What was your experience like?
