Changes

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence.  Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale).  The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year.  In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence.  Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale).  The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year.  In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors party’s in the city’s ore with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or bicycling in the national ''Fiesten op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.  

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fiesten op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

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