Orange holidays | How About Orange

April 29, 2008

Orange holidays

I think I would like to be in Amsterdam tomorrow. April 30th is Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) in the Netherlands, celebrated with orange food, banners, and "extreme amounts of orange clothing and creative accessories" to commemorate the queen's birthday.

Photo by Hans Bouman; the rest of his Queen's Day set is here.

And then there's the Battle of the Oranges in Ivrea, Italy which takes place during Carnival, 40 days before Lent. Apparently reenacting a historic insurrection, teams throw oranges at each other. A lot of oranges. I'm fascinated.

What other orange holidays am I missing out on?

Photo by Semantico; see the whole set here.

31 comments:

Katie said...

Halloween!

Jessica Jones said...

Oh yeah! Duh.

Alison said...

I'm moving to the Netherlands in a month and I'm so sad I'm missing Queen's Day, as I also loooooove orange. I consoled myself by buying an orange polka dog collar for my dog.

Jessica Jones said...

Well, I'm sure that's almost as good. :)

Nevis said...

Wicked!

Mod and Mint said...

I was just thinking about Queensday and how this is going to be the first time in my life not being in Amsterdam. Gonna miss it. Much. It's always sooo much fun, i love the whole city turning into one large outdoor party and fleamarket!

Michele said...

Leya over at Curious Bird is hosting Color week. Tomorrow is orange!

http://curiousbird.typepad.com/curious_bird/

Ok...so its not a holiday. But still a very orange day for a lot of bloggers.

She has a list of all the blogs participating (including mine ;)).

Anonymous said...

In 2000 I happened to be in Amsterdam for Queens Day with a Dutch friend--what a party! If you can make it one you you should try :)

Alfred T. Mahan said...

Well, no doubt my Irish Catholic grandmother, who talks as though Oliver Cromwell just left Ireland yesterday, will kill me, but July 12th is the Battle of the Boyne, or Orangeman's Day in Northern Ireland.

Pintoo said...

looks like fun..havent heard of this festival

Anonymous said...

Amsterdam sounds like hell to me on queensday, far too crowded. But all the other cities are nice and orange.

I'm going to visit all kinds of flea markets in the centre of Rotterdam, it' s really nice.

greetings from holland!

Miraisis said...

I remember in primary school we celebrated Harmony Day and released orange balloons into the sky with notes attached.

Suhail said...

Queensday is such a great day in The Netherlands. There are great concerts and lots of things to do in Amsterdam, but other towns and cities are equally festive. As a child I loved Queensday as the whole neighbourhood celebrated and there where tons of games for kids to do ending with a good helping of Poffertjes (nice tiny mini pancakes). MMmmmm.
I miss home (living in London now).

Anonymous said...

Hi! I finally decided to leave you a message :) Did you know there was an Orange Revolution a few years back in Ukraine? whole bunch of orange colored flags and attire out there!
for some folks it's sort of a holiday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ukraine_elections_massprotest_20041122.jpg

Anonymous said...

Not exactly a holiday. Plus there's not even an announced date yet. But watch for Strangely Orange Snack Appreciation Day:

http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/2008/02/beginnings-of-movement.html

Anonymous said...

Koninginnedag (Queensday) in Amsterdam was very orange this year :-)

Jessica Jones said...

Wow, lots of interesting info in these comments, everybody. I remember the news reports about the Orange Revolution. Never heard of poffertjes, though. They sound lovely. Probably more delicious than strangely orange snacks :) Mahan, you are a constant source of obscure information. Thank you. (I should qualify that: it's probably not obscure to people who live in Northern Ireland.)

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'll have to get in on that! I love orange in any shade...any shade at all. Lately I've even begun to be drawn to hot pink and orange swirls on saris, scarves, towels, potholders...you name it!

Anonymous said...

Riverside, California used to have an Orange Blossom Festival. I know you are not requesting nonexistent orange holidays, but still.

Last year they decided to replace it with a Festival of Lights over the Christmas holidays.

Riverside is home to the Parent Navel Orange Tree. This sounds more exciting than it actually is. :D But I believe orange blossoms have the most beautiful smell in the world, of anything.

Brownie said...

In Holland during soccer games everybody also dresses up in orange, throws orange confetti, etc. It gets pretty wild. I know it's not a real holiday, but over there soccer is pretty much as important as any holiday..

Betsy said...

Hi Jess...again, not a holiday, but we just wrapped up the 2008 Orange Conference in Atlanta on April 30. I have been following your blog for a while just getting ideas because I'm the conference director for the Orange Conference. It's hosted by the reThink Group, and we're an organization that equips and trains churches about family ministry. It's the whole idea that if red represents the family (the color of blood and warmth) and yellow represents the church (like light), then when these two work together to reach the family, you get a brilliant, beautiful orange. Fun stuff...www.theorangeconference.com. Thanks for a great blog!
Betsy

Holly said...

Was there a few years ago and yes, everyone wears orange. Best spot was the orange fake fur trousers worn by a very tall man. Flintstones came to mind. Very fun!

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of orange, orange being the color of the Signal Corps of the US Army, my old stomping grounds!

Jessica Jones said...

Nice. And Holly, thanks for interesting mental picture. Wow.

Jessica Jones said...

Betsy, thanks for sharing about the color symbolism and the Orange Conference.

le Méli Mélo de Val said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
le Méli Mélo de Val said...

Hi, In French Riviera, in Menton there is a early lemon and orange festival, where they are building huge sculpturs with citrus fruits.
You can find some images
here

Jessica Jones said...

Val, those pictures are AMAZING. I love them! Thanks so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

i'll never understand nor love a holiday, hate to burst the orange bubble :0, where people destroy and stomp on food when people would kill to eat this much in three weeks. like all the babies in burma right now and orphans who are drinking dirty water and fighting malnutrition. i can't, i can't, i can't understand it no matter how much it is part of any tradition.
on an upbeat note, still loving your stuff. i'd love to know how to do the pen on a mug drawing for sure....

Anonymous said...

and that wasn't me being preachy or anything to you, cuz girl i know you love orange period and i like it too, but just reflecting.....i just can't find it in my heart to justify stomping on food, if rotten that's one thing, but stomping on food when others are starving...we are so blessed to not know hunger or poverty....thanks.

Jessica Jones said...

I never even thought of that, Muneera. Thanks so much for your comments.