You can feel it in the air. That tingly excitement that is almost palpable. Queen's Day or Koninginnedag is one of the biggest events in Holland. It is a national holiday to celebrate the queen’s birthday. The celebrations are supposed to commemorate national unity. It is a tradition that started almost 113 years back. Although the present queen, Beatrix’s birthday is on January 31, she changed Queen’s Day to April 30 as it is easier to revel and party out in the open in the spring than in the dead of winter.

A visitor to Amsterdam even two weeks prior to Queen’s Day can sniff out the excitement that would be underway. Dam Square,  which houses the royal palace and the phallic national monument, gets itself a carnivalesque air. The medium-sized square is turned into a jam-packed fair with mind blowing amusement rides and temporary food stalls. The smell of the famous Dutch stroop waffles and Belgian waffles with chocolate sauce and whipped cream mingles with the heady smell of marijuana wafting from the coffee shops in and around the Dam.

Come Queen’s Day and the already crowded streets get even more packed. Orange is the colour of the day.

Loyalty to the Royal House of the Orange of Nassau manifests itself in the form of innovative clothing and headgear. Orange ballony crowns are sold in thousands. But people craft orange crowns and hats out of almost anything...pillows, tin cans, trash, etc. The streets too are decked to the hilt in a myriad of orange balloons. Over 60,000 people arrive in Holland from all over the world on this day. It is estimated that the seven-minute walk from the central station to Dam Square on a normal day, takes over an hour on this Orange day.

The  mad festivities start the previous night which is called the Queen’s Night. Though not as popular in Amsterdam as it is in other cities as Den Haag, the night holds all kinds of festivities and parties. The drag queen race and the gay pride parade close to the Dam is especially popular. .

Queen’s Day is also the one time when the queen appears in public and joins in the festivities. It is not uncommon for the queen to jump into a sack and race with the other competitors (this is usually broadcast on national television) or join in other Dutch games. People will be disappointed if they stick to Amsterdam, if they wish to get a quick peek at the queen. The queen usually travels to one of the more obscure countryside retreats. This year the queen choose to be seen in the Frisian towns of Makkum and Franeker.

Another amusing Dutch tradition during this time is the practice of tying a piece of bread on the end of a string by the queen, the other end of which is tied to a clothes line or the ceiling. Everyone tries to eat it with the hands tied behind.

Queen’s Day itself is complete madness. It is one day when the whole nation turns into a big open market. One has to mark one’s space with chalk at least a couple of days in advance on any of the streets or the plenitude of squares in Amsterdam.Competition for prime spots are extremely fierce and some even guard their spaces all night.

It is the time when one can get rid of one’s junk and also buy knick knacks you always wanted at throw away prices. From designer clothes to electronic gadgets to beautiful Delft porcelain, everything is up for grabs.

The spirit of camaraderie is apparent not only in the friendly bargaining that goes on but also in absolute strangers partying together. As Ali, a Spanish moor immigrant worker says, “When but today can you hug a complete stranger and feel like brothers.” By the end of the day, the feeling of generosity overwhelms everybody. People give away their unsold things for free to anyone who wants them.

While everybody takes to the street, they do it on foot, come rain or shine. Queen’s Day in Holland is touted to be the world’s biggest street party and the crowd move in all different directions making it chaotic. It is imperative to have your glass of beer (it’s Dutch tradition, you see!) as you saunter from one street to another, either shopping or being part of the outdoor theme parties. Pubs move out into the streets with DJs hanging out from top floor windows churning out all kinds of music (gabber, trance, even bhangra..Punjabi MC is popular even here) from their funky turn tables. Beer is sold in a slightly diluted form on the streets.

Queen’s Day, however, as any Dutch will tell you is best celebrated on water. The canals are full of boats cruising lazily, covered with orange confetti and filled to the brim with revellers dancing to loud music.

The lull in the celebrations at around eight in the evening is deceptive. It is just a break, in preparation for the parties, especially the famous Amsterdamian trance parties. The booze flows freely as do the soft drugs like hash and pot and one is usually warned against spiked drinks. Barring that, it is easy to let go and let the music take over for the night. Queens Day after parties continue for days after. The Dutch do love to party.