A Different Kind of Tree Lighting Event

So we had a quiet weekend at home following the awesome fireworks display that was January 1st. Today we decided to take a late afternoon walk since we had been inside all day. After strolling down a street nearby, we decided to come back toward Museumplein to see how the clean up was coming along from the other night, when we noticed a couple of people in front of us were walking in the same direction, with their Christmas trees in tow. We didn't think much of it until we made our way to the start of the park, where all of a sudden we saw people descending upon the park from all directions dragging trees, and heading toward the far end of the park. As the sun set, the crowd grew and, in an organized fashion, one by one threw their tree into a huge pile. After a quick count down, someone set the pile on fire in what became a huge Christmas tree bonfire. It was very festive- as people all cheered and a marching band made it's way toward the crowd playing music and yelling Happy New Year! We were shocked at the display but mesmerized, as always, at how the Dutch seem to make a party out of things that most people I know don't think much about - like getting rid of an old Christmas tree. Attached is some video we took using my mobile phone from the event. We were so happy to have it on us as this was definitely not something we were expecting to see when we left the house this afternoon. Oh, and this time, it was nice to see that the police and fire department were on hand just in case..