Queen's Day celebration is a national public holiday in order to commemorate the Queen, who symbolizes the quintessential image of the Dutch royalty. On this day, all of Holland can come together and feel unified as they celebrate their Dutch heritage. “Holiday celebrations are expressions of identity whether they are national, regional, ethnic or religious,” they allow for a sense of distinctiveness that leave the country feeling unified (Long). In creating a national holiday in which the whole country is given a day off of work, the people are allowed a sense of unity and nationalism which they can all relate to. “Holiday celebrations are complex cultural, symbolic events. Customs, artifacts and rituals surrounding celebrations represent their ideas, heritage, identity and values” (Long). Queen's Day is a symbolic event since the Queen herself is a symbol of the Dutch monarchy. While the Dutch monarchy does not have much political control, it represents Dutch national identity. This national identity and common history can unite them while keeping their religious, cultural and ethnic diversity that they fell is the essence of the Dutch culture. Since Queen's Day is not a religious or ethnic holiday, everyone regardless of their background can come together and celebrate their nation's identity. National holidays promote a sense of patriotism that unifies the country in a celebration that does not make one ethnicity or religion separate from another.

National holidays are celebrated with symbols which can be used to represent many different things and can have multiple interpretations. While certain symbols can be given new meanings, old symbols may be forgotten (Long). The one symbol that has stayed true since the commencement of Queen's Day has been the color orange. On Queen's Day, Holland is decked in orange, from orange canal boats to bodies painted bright orange (Radio Netherlands). The reason this represents the Queen is because she is a descendant in the lineage of Prince Willem of Orange, who became the first ruler of The Netherlands after he led them in a successful revolt against the Spaniards (Kurian 158). The Dutch only use the color on special occasions, such as the 1995 World Cup when the Dutch soccer team (Fenema 17). By saving this color for special occasions, it emphasizes the reverence for the House of Orange and how the symbol is not taken lightly.

Symbols can also be interpreted differently from how they were intended and represent the holiday in a whole new perspective. Just as the Queen symbolized the importance and significance of the holiday in the past, her symbol in the celebration has changed drastically. “Public holiday celebrations are political in that they raise questions of whose holiday gets celebrated and who chooses the symbol” (Long). There are many questions being raised about Queen's Day that debate the role of the Queen in the monarchy and society. While the majority of the Dutch cherish Queen's Day, there is a debate among many intellectuals about the constitutional powers of the monarch and her influence on politics (Radio Netherlands). A leading historian, Thomas cons der Dunk, calls Queen's Day an “infantile aberration” (Radio Netherlands). He believes “pro-orange sentiment is part of political pathology” and the Dutch monarchy “a relic from the time when people believed that popes and princesses possessed a diving power, an anomaly that contracts starkly with the present day Western Europe rationality” (Radio Netherlands). He believes that the monarchy should not be commemorated in a public holiday since it has no real political powers and is simply ancient history. His views are the same as fellow Republican intellectuals who would like to see the monarch abolished.

This recent public debate about the monarchy and Queen Beatrix's role started in early April 2000 when the leader of one of the parties in the coalition cabinet, Thom de Graaf, presented his proposals on a new style monarchy. These suggestions included constitutional changes under which the Queen would no longer be a member of the government and her authority in politics would be terminated (Radio Netherlands). The proposals created an angry response from politicians in The Hague and in the populist media. The debate became even more intense after the publication of a book that tried to reveal that Queen Beatrix had interfered with the government policy several times (Radio Netherlands).

 

Regardless of the public debate regarding the Queen's role in politics, she is still a very popular figure and Queen's Day remains a popular holiday. The ongoing debate over the Queen's authority and her importance in the celebration does not seem to affect the Dutch's willingness to have a wild celebration on Queen's Day. The Dutch seem more interested in using the Queen's birthday as a justification to celebrate than in actually paying homage to the Royal Family 9Sennitt). Queen's Day has not remained true to its origin as a political holiday commemorating the Dutch Royalty but instead represents a day in which the whole country can be free from work and celebrate their national identity. This national identity does not emphasize political and royalist unity but instead emphasizes their cultural diversity and tolerance of differences which brings the country together, united as one. “We are truly one,” they seem to say, “though seemingly divided by rank, class, status, role, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, or the like” (Office of Folklife Programs 61). Even though the Netherlanders may be separated by any of these differences, they are brought together on Queen's Day to celebrate their national identity.