Netherlands Edition
World Careful Driver Day leads today's complete edition for Netherlands.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
A day for buses, taxis, rideshare cars, delivery vans, trucks, bicycles, scooters, and everyone trusting strangers on the road.
The anniversary of the relief of Leiden from the Spanish siege in 1574, and it is the most important local holiday in Leiden. The celebration includes the eating of herring and white bread (the food that the Spanish left behind when they fled), the eating of hutspot (a stew of carrots, onions, and potatoes), and the drinking of beer. The story goes that when the Spanish fled, they left behind a pot of hutspot on the stove, and the starving citizens of Leiden found it and ate it. The Relief of Leiden is the founding myth of the city, and the tradition is to give away free herring and white bread on the streets. The day also features a large parade, a funfair, and a concert on the Rapenburg canal.