Queen's Day in Lebanon

While the Americans were hunting down Osama, and the Lebanese were enjoying their Labor Day Sunday, the Dutch were celebrating Queen’s Day. It’s a pretty big thing in Holland, the biggest and most popular national holiday. What do we do during Queen’s Day? We all wear something orange, go out on the streets and party, sell all our old junk , and buy other people’s old junk. That’s what it all boils is down to.

Queen's Day Celebration 2011 in Beirut

In my hometown, which is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 307,081, some 300,000 people came out and partied. That would be pretty much the entire population, I’d say.

And so the Dutch in Lebanon missed a good party ? Are you kidding? We never miss a good party. The Dutchies in Lebanon, and the Lebanese Dutchies, got together and rigged a pretty good Queen’s Day party of their own in the mountains above Beirut. Complete with a Freemarket and poffertjes  (yours truly!).

Baking poffertjes, Gieneke is assisting

Thank you Joke and Tineke and anyone else who helped organizing it for a wonderful Queen’s Day. And most pictures aren’t mine; I was busy baking.