Video: Easter bonfires lit in the Netherlands; Tradition under pressure
In many places in the Netherlands, Easter Bonfires were lit on Sunday evening, and more will happen on Monday. Some attracted thousands of visitors. But the tradition is under pressure from increasing rules and regulations.
In Erica, Drenthe, there is “no Easter without an Easter Bonfire,” Barry Gepken of the Stichting De Mammoet, which organizes the annual bonfire, told Hart van Nederland on Easter Sunday.
The bonfire in Erica has a mammoth as a mascot. Hundreds of people gathered to see it lit. “The mammoth is extinct. We must ensure that Easter bonfires do not become extinct as well,” Gepken said. “Regulations are making it increasingly difficult to organize.”
Since the introduction of the new Environment and Planning Act in 2024, new rules apply to bonfires. Organizers must meet many more conditions to obtain a permit and must go through various authorities to do so. This has resulted in several bonfire organizers throwing in the towel this year.
In Huissen, Gelderland, the Easter bonfire is no longer happening after nearly 100 years. “It is no longer feasible due to regulations and costs,” Jan Wannet of the organization behind the bonfire told NOS earlier this month. “An event permit from the municipality, nitrogen calculations for the province, traffic controllers need to be hired, and first aid and fire department personnel must be present. Moreover, all those people have to be paid.”
Last year, drought prevented the Easter bonfire from being lit in Erica and many other places. This year, the weather gods were kinder.
Easter bonfires also went up in flames in many other places in Gelderland, Drenthe, Groningen, Overijssel, and Friesland on Sunday evening. More bonfires are planned for Monday.
