Vexillology

Koningsdag, celebrating the birthday of the Dutch king Willem-Alexander, is the national holiday of the Netherlands. It involves so-called ‘free markets’: in parks, on squares and some streets, people can lay down a blanket and freely sell their old junk. Also lots of games, little girls being paid to play the violin terribly and other (attempts at) music. It’s also tradition that the king visits one city and tries to act like a normal person while being the center of attention of what’s possibly the most awkward birthday party on the planet.

This little flag was part of the visual identity of Koningsdag in Rotterdam when Willem-Alexander visited in 2023, and it’s quite cleverly designed. It shows the green-white-green flag of Rotterdam, with superimposed orange party/birthday flags. The party-flags also turn the background into green-white-green triangles, which seem to be interlocking. This could well symbolise a connection between Rotterdam and the house of Orange. In the middle, the orange triangles are turned upside down to form a crown, also very clever. 010 is the landline phone prefix for Rotterdam, and has become sort of a nickname for the city. Maybe here the nulls are also meant to be eyes, with the one as a nose.

I couldn’t find where they handed out these flags, but I had to have one so I was glad to pick this one off the ground :p

I’m not an orangist myself, mind you. I like this flag a lot, though.

Which is the best?

For all you lovers of overcomplicated and gaudy.

This (specific) flag was apparently used until 1675. I’ve not done much looking into the history of the flag, though, I just like the flappy bits.

Seen flying in front of the county administration building.

They have a very interesting Wiki page full of history and tales of their struggles for better living standards. If you're interested, there's also this great documentary from the 70's about 'em.

They also happen to have a really bitchin' flag, IMHO.

As the title mentions, they still exist today, and if you have any interest in unionizing your workplace, they can still train you to become an organizer anywhere in the world, and are unique in that no matter your profession, from welder to coder, they'll help you unionize.