Holidays & Observances in The Netherlands

The Netherlands is a small, but densely populated country in Western Europe. It is an extremely liberal country known for having open drug policies and being the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. People are very accepting of each other regardless of race, sexuality, or religion. Traditionally, Christianity was the most popular religion of The Netherlands, but in recent years, adherence to organized religion has been decreasing throughout the country. Today most Dutch people do not consider themselves religious at all, however, Christian traditions are still prevalent. Christian holidays are celebrated by most of the country, even the non-religious. They include many old customs unique to The Netherlands.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes the former Netherlands Antilles islands of Sint Eustatius, Saba, Sint Maarten, Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba. 

Until 1986, Aruba was a part of the Netherland Antilles, but became a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Then in October 2010, the Netherland Antilles dissolved and Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius became special municipalities within The Netherlands administrative structure while Curacao and Sint Maarten (the Dutch side of the island of Saint Martin), joined the Netherlands as self-governing countries which are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Curaçao and Bonaire along with Aruba are part of the Windward Islands group known as the ABC islands located off the coast of Northwestern coast of Venezuela.

Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten are part of the Leeward Islands group located east of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sint Maarten shares an island with the French overseas department Saint Martin.