5. Bevrijdingsdag

The Buzz -- The 1945 liberation of the Dutch from German occupation is celebrated each year on 5 May with a national holiday: parties and music festivals are held throughout the country. In Amsterdam, the reigning monarch, Queen Beatrix, attends an open-air classical music concert which takes place on a floating stage on the River Amstel, while an outdoor pop concert draws an enormous crowd on the Museumplein. The day before sees more sober reflection as the royal family attends a remembrance service honouring the fallen at the Nieuwe Kerk, followed by the laying of wreaths at the foot of the nearby National Monument. (A special service remembering persecuted gays and lesbians takes place at the Homomonument.) A two-minute silence is observed throughout the Netherlands at 8pm.