The beloved Dutch holiday of drinking in the streets while wearing the world’s most unflattering shade of orange is taking an unexpected turn this year — it will be celebrated on a different date.
Instead of April 27, King’s Day will be celebrated a day earlier, on April 26. The same goes for King’s Night festivities — the party will start the night before on April 25.
What’s behind this change? Christianity.
Why the switch?
If you’ve just gotten used to the fact that King’s Day falls on April 27 instead of the old Queen’s Day of April 30, it’s time for another change.
READ MORE | 8 things you should know about King’s Day in the Netherlands
The reason behind this switch might surprise you. According to In de Buurt, the notoriously secular Netherlands is basing its decision in Christian tradition.
April 27, 2025, falls on a Sunday, which is, naturally, a day of rest. God can only forgive you for working on a Sunday if you’re a 15-year-old Albert Heijn employee; the rest of us have to take it easy.
A merging of traditions
But it’s not necessarily the case that the king is on fire for the Lord.
Christian tradition has meshed into Dutch tradition, and as a result, the royal day hasn’t been celebrated on a Sunday for the past 45 years.
READ MORE | Take me to… church? 10 types of converted religious buildings in the Netherlands
This rule is even laid down in a royal decree, which King Alexander, of course, respects. Alternatively, this might be his way of thanking god for giving him the divine right to rule. 😉
In any case, we’re saying thank god for God. We’ll really put the rest in ‘rest day’ on the 27th and use the Sunday to cure our hangovers.
How do you plan on spending this King’s Day? Let us know in the comments!
I found Lina’s article to be very disrespectful to the Christian faith.
Stupid!
Please don’t let this country become like the American maggots with Christian nationalism.
Sunday is not the Lord’s day. Read your Bible (God rested on the 7th day of creation- not Sunday. You are also discriminating other religions; who’s holy day is different.
God doesn’t care what day we rest .
Just an Anglo American dutchess tired of religion fe€king the world.
The Dutch culture has developed almost entirely on the basis of Christianity. It is a new thing for the majority of people to not have Christian beliefs in this country. Even in today’s culture we see so many influences from Christianity which is a good thing. Jesus is loving, forgiving and gracious. The belief in God is what made our ancestors so curious and the source of so many scientific discoveries. The Bible was what kickstarted literature. I hope that not only Dutch culture, but European culture will continue to reflect Christian beliefs and respect what has made our civilisation be more loving and accepting. This decision makes complete sense and I hope people stop making fun of Christianity. Good Bless!