Liberation Day

What it is

Bevrijdingsdag is a national holiday in the Netherlands. It is kept on 5 May, directly after Remembrance of the Dead on 4 May, when the country honours its war dead. The two days are meant to be held together: silence first, then celebration. No single ceremony covers the whole country. Each town and city arranges its own programme, and the national opening moves to a different province every year. Music festivals are the most visible part of it. A separate remembrance on 15 August marks the end of the war in what was the Dutch East Indies.

How it began

German forces occupied the Netherlands from 1940, governing it through a civilian administration. The end came in May 1945. At Lüneburg, Admiral von Friedeburg signed the surrender of German troops in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark to Field Marshal Montgomery. In Wageningen, on 5 May, Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes, commanding I Canadian Corps, and Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz, commander-in-chief of German forces in the Netherlands, agreed the terms for a capitulation, with Prince Bernhard, head of the Dutch Interior Forces, present. The document was signed the following day in the university auditorium next door. Liberation had come through American, Canadian, British, Polish, Belgian, Dutch and Czechoslovak units, and through airborne operations in the south-east.

Fixing the date

The first celebration, on 31 August 1945, fell on Queen's Day. Queen Wilhelmina preferred another date, so 5 May, the day surrender was negotiated, was chosen. In 1946 the government settled on 5 May unless it fell on a Sunday, out of respect for Christian Sunday rest. That rule ended in 1968. From 1958 the day came round once every five years, and committees never made it a settled national tradition the way Remembrance Day became one. In 1990 it became an annual national holiday, replacing Waterloo Day. It is not automatically a day off; employers and employees settle that themselves. The Dutch East Indies had no such day, and 15 August 1945 is remembered there instead, from 1999.

Fire and parade

The night between 4 and 5 May belongs to the fire. A flame is kindled in Wageningen, outside the Hotel de Wereld, at a ceremony shown live on television, with the town's mayor doing the lighting. The prime minister traditionally takes part too, giving the festivities their official start. Walking groups then carry the flame out from the town to the rest of the country, a moment that turns mourning into celebration. A veterans' parade was held in Wageningen every year until 2004, with Prince Bernhard present. After his death it became the Liberation Parade on 5 May, while a national veterans' day moved to June in The Hague.

Festivals and concerts

Fourteen provincial cities host the largest 5 May festivals. Wageningen has the Gelderland event, Haarlem's is Bevrijdingspop, and Zwolle holds the Overijssel one. Since 1995 a guest speaker has given an inspirational lecture almost every year; Queen Beatrix gave the first. The day closes with a televised concert in Amsterdam, attended by the King and Queen. A different orchestra plays each time, on a platform afloat on the Amstel across from the Royal Theater Carré. The last piece is always Vera Lynn's 'We'll Meet Again', while the royal couple depart by boat. Dutch flags fly to the masthead from sunrise to sunset that day, without the orange pennant; a special one exists for the occasion and may also be used on 15 August.

How Liberation Day is kept

Towns and cities plan their own programmes. The evening of 4 May is given to remembrance; at midnight the mood shifts. A flame is lit in Wageningen and carried outwards by walking groups. On 5 May, festivals run through the day in fourteen provincial cities, with music on stages around the country. A lecture is delivered. Veterans and others join the Liberation Parade in Wageningen. The day ends with the televised concert in Amsterdam, where the King and Queen are present and the orchestra closes with 'We'll Meet Again'. The national opening is held in a different province each year.

When and where

Liberation Day is kept on 5 May. The date was chosen because that is when the surrender terms for the Netherlands were negotiated in 1945, and it follows Remembrance of the Dead on 4 May. From 1958 it came round only every five years; since 1990 it has been observed annually. A separate remembrance falls on 15 August.

The holiday belongs to the Netherlands and is kept throughout the country, with no single national gathering. Events happen in towns and cities everywhere, and the largest festivals are in fourteen provincial cities, including Wageningen, Haarlem and Zwolle. Amsterdam hosts the closing concert. The flame ceremony is tied to Wageningen, where the surrender terms were agreed. The former Dutch East Indies never kept the day.

What Liberation Day means

To those who keep it, 5 May is the moment the country stopped being occupied. It is deliberately paired with the day of remembrance before it: grief first, then gratitude and release. The flame carried from Wageningen stands for that passage from mourning into celebration, and its spread across the country ties the whole nation to one starting point. The flags, the parade and the closing concert give the day a public, shared character, and the annual lecture asks people to think about what freedom means now.

Questions people ask about Liberation Day

See also

OmmegangMedieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesTwelfth NightThe closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassailJirgaA traditional consultative council of elders that settles disputes through consensusTalking stickA carved staff that shows who may speak at a Northwest Coast gathering

Good reading and sources

• Liberation Day (Netherlands) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.