Begun in 2009 by a group of philanthropic entrepreneurs in the Zeedijk area of Amsterdam, Hartjesdagen's aim is to promote and stimulate the economic profile and of Zeedijk (just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Red Light District). The event is always held the third weekend in August and draws more than 40,000 participants each year. Hartjesdagen translates to Days of the Heart.
Though the celebration as we know it today is only in its fourth year, Hartjesdagen has been around since the Middle Ages, some historians believe. On the third Monday of August each year, mostly around Harlemmerplein, the Jordaan, and Dapperbuurt in Amsterdam as well as Bloemendaal and Haarlem, small bonfires would be started and children would go around collecting money.
Interestingly, the name of the festival most likely got its start as Hertjesdag, or Deer Day, when hunting in forests - normally a right reserved for nobility - was open to the general public. The unlucky deer would have been taken into Haarlem, Bloemendaal, and Amsterdam to be roasted over the fires.
Eventually, it morphed into a cross-dressing extravaganza, caught on canvass by artist Johan Braakensiek in his oil painting of the same name.
But all was ground to a halt during the second World War when the Nazis were occupying Holland. Hartjesdag was snuffed out and remained so until 1997, when a local committee in Zeedijk decided to resurrect the festival.
The festivities this year kicked off on Friday evening with Nacht van de Romantiek, or Night of Romanticism. Yesterday, the party started at noon with an official opening at the NH Hotel Barbizon Palace followed by performances by the Zeedijk Choir, Drakendans, and opera performed through open windows along the Zeedijk. Today, the final day of the festival, will be filled with a neighborhood brunch, DJs, sing-alongs, live performances, and more.
Zeedijk is a neighborhood in Amsterdam's old city center known for its nautical history as a seaman's neighborhood and plethora of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai restaurants.
For more information, check out Hartjesdagen on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and the event website.
Image Credit: Johan Braakensiek
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