{"id":139454,"date":"2022-04-28T13:47:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T11:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=139454"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:16","slug":"international-students-celebrating-kingsday-i-didnt-even-know-there-was-a-king-before-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/04\/28\/international-students-celebrating-kingsday-i-didnt-even-know-there-was-a-king-before-this\/","title":{"rendered":"International students celebrating Kingsday: \u2018I didn\u2019t even know there was a king before this\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

During Kingsnight there were a lot of parties organised throughout the city. ESN Tuesdays organised a party at caf\u00e9 de Beurs and Erasmus Night Out threw a Kingsnight party at the Huiskantine<\/em>. There, a lot of international students changed into orange outfits and talked about their views on this holiday and how they are celebrating it.<\/p>\n

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Nicky Hoekstra (left) and Seyeon Kim celebrate King's Day.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaxime van der Sande<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Kingsday wasn\u2019t what it\u2019s supposed to be last year. There were no parties, and international students couldn\u2019t learn the Dutch traditions. For a lot of students this meant that this year was their first time actually celebrating a Dutch holiday.<\/p>\n

Wearing orange<\/h2>

Early in the evening, Nicky Hoekstra and Seyeon Kim were already fully in the orange spirit, sporting orange tops and cowboy hats. Though Nicky is half Dutch, her friend Seyeon didn\u2019t know a lot about Kingsday before. She is a first year Arts and Culture student, so this was her first time celebrating. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect everyone to wear orange, but I love how they all do. Such a Dutch spirit, I love it\u201d, Seyeon said.\u00a0 \u201cI come from South Korea and over there, I\u2019ve never seen everyone wear the same colour for a holiday or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though she was wearing orange flowers around her neck, student Cielo Balagtas (Business Administration) also had no idea about Kingsday before. \u201cHonestly, I didn\u2019t even know there was a king before this, I just thought it was a random holiday\u201d, she laughed. Last year, she celebrated Kingsday at Kralingse Plas with friends, but this year she was planning to go to Amsterdam or to the festival at Stadhuisplein.<\/p>\n

More help from the university<\/h2>
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Mattia Santagapita (left) with his friends in line for the club<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaxime van der Sande<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

For international students who didn\u2019t know what Kingsday was about, it can be hard to know what to do on a day like this. Mattia Santagapita studies International Business Administration and wished there was some more organisation around Kingsday from the university. \u201cI had no idea where to go or what to do. I think the university could have helped international students a little bit by giving more information about this holiday\u201d, he explained.<\/p>\n

Mattia is currently in his second year, so this wasn\u2019t his first Kingsday in the Netherlands. However, last year, due to corona, it didn\u2019t feel like a real holiday for him. \u201cThis year I feel like wearing orange as well to represent the Dutch culture and to integrate more into the Dutch society. I have bought an orange T-shirt, but I\u2019m saving that for Kingsday\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Celebrating the people<\/h2>

When asked what he thinks Kingsday is about, Mattia said he thought it isn\u2019t just a day to celebrate the king. \u201cI feel like it is also about celebrating the people. The Dutch spirit embodies in this holiday as well. Everyone wearing orange shows that everyone cares.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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