For people in the Netherlands, April 27 is the date of the biggest party of the year — and an excuse to dress all in orange.
The King's Day celebrates the birthday of King Willem-Alexander, the current king of the Netherlands. It is the country's national day, and its people take their task of enjoying themselves very seriously.
There is even a special word in Dutch for the crazy events that happen during the festival: "oranjegekte", which means "orange madness". The color is special to Dutch people because it's the color of their country's royal family.
So what do people do to celebrate? The go-to food is herring (鲱鱼). The fish stored in salty
water and eaten with onions and pickles (腌菜) can be found at one of the many fish shops around the country.
On the day, people wear as much orange as possible. Everyone wears huge orange hats, orange dresses and fake orange hair. Even pets are dressed up in orange clothes to celebrate.
The King's Day is a day of shopping too, especially in the Netherlands' capital city. "As a city built on trade, Amsterdam loves to bargain," CNN explained. "The free market gives everyone the chance to sell their second-hand things on the streets and parks of Amsterdam, creating one of the world's largest flea markets."
Dutch people are known around the world for being laid-back and sometimes a little crazy. And the Netherlands' King's Day celebrations certainly show off this side of its people. Compare it to the birthdays of other countries' kings and queens. In the UK, for example, Queen Elizabeth II's birthday isn't usually celebrated, except for special birthdays like her 90th last year. Many people don't even know when her birthday is. In the Netherlands, however, the king or queen's birthday has long been a national excuse for a lighthearted day of orange fun.
