In the Netherlands, Koninginnedag is a national celebration to honor the birthday of the Queen. Although Queen Beatrix was born on Jan. 31, she kept the April date in honor of her mother, Juliana. In January, Queen Beatrix announced her abdication on April 30, 2013 in favor of her son. Willem-Alexander will become King of the Netherlands on April 30, 2013. As a result, the celebration in 2014 will be called King’s day.
Why do I write this? Well, our Dutch Windmill was built in 1902 and had fallen into disrepair. In 1980 a campaign to save the windmill began and the Wilhelmina Tulip Gardens were created next to it. The top of our windmill was sent to the Netherlands for restoration. The windmill and the gardens are now a beautiful place to visit in Golden Gate Park. A celebration at the Windmill is held in honor of Koninginnedag. I got lucky to be at the gardens at the right time this year and got to see the tulips before it was too late.
