Last updated: September 2026

In 2018, instead of the usual Christmas market, I went to the Midwinterfeest (Midwinter Celebration) in De Rijp, a village about an hour north of Amsterdam. For a weekend in December, they decorate the entire village with Christmas lights but also fishing nets, whales, and other maritime-themed items. The locals dress in Victorian clothes, there is Victorian laundry hung out to dry, everyone celebrates winter and the rich history of the village. As incredible as it sounds, this used to be a whale hunters’ village in the past, when they still had access to the sea, before that land was reclaimed and the lakes were transformed into polders. 

Light display on a house in De Rijp for Midwinterfeest

I absolutely loved this celebration, it was such a treat to be there! There was music, mulled wine, traditional pea soup and smoked herring, as well as other goodies and a market with lovely items — the local products being my favourites. Kids could ride ponies, pet sheep, or pretend to be Victorian beggars looking to earn a few coins. The joyful atmosphere made us forget about the freezing wind and low temperatures (the mulled wine helped as well).  Our day-trip ended with an evening concert at the church, where the Whale City Sound choir delighted us with Christmas songs. The only thing missing was snow. Maybe next time 🙂

What happens at the Midwinterfeest

The Midwinterfeest takes over the old centre of De Rijp for a weekend in December. The streets, the canals and people’s front gardens are all decorated, and much of the village turns out in historical costume as characters from its own past.

The past editions saw around two hundred short performances spread across the village over the weekend: theatre, street theatre, choirs, brass bands, folk music and dance, and all of them are free to watch. Around them run the Christmas market with food stalls and local makers, a children’s village with pony rides and workshops, a lantern parade for the kids on the opening evening, and concerts inside the Grote Kerk. Everything is within walking distance of everything else, and about forty thousand people come over the weekend, so the narrow streets get busy in the early evening.

whale decoration in de Rijp for Midwinterfeest

Why a village in the polders decorates with whales

This was one of the greatest surprises I had when I went to De Rijp: finding whale decorations all over the village and learning that this used to be a whaling village. While it sits completely in land. Today. The history is different though.

De Rijp sits between the Beemster and the Schermer, and both of those polders used to be open water. Before the draining works it was almost an island, with a herring fleet of its own and ships that sailed north to Spitsbergen for whales. The village coat of arms still carries two herrings.

Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater, the engineer associated with the draining of the Beemster in the early 1600s, was born in De Rijp and designed its town hall in 1630. The reclamation he is remembered for is also what ended the village’s life as a port: once the lakes were pumped dry, the ships had a long way to travel before they reached open water, and the fleet went elsewhere. A fire destroyed the southern half of the village in 1654. The Grote Kerk was rebuilt the year after with herring money, and the stained-glass windows donated by eleven North Holland towns and by the local guilds are still in it.

When is the next Midwinterfeest?

The Midwinterfeest is held generally every two years, always in December. The next edition is on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 December 2027. All the performances are free; the organisers sell a printed programme for a few euros, with a lottery ticket included. The programme and the exact times go up on midwinterfeest-graftderijp.nl once they’re known. If you can’t visit during the winter, you could still have a day trip to De Rijp in any season. It’s a lovely place and out of the tourist circuit.

If you are in the Netherlands in a year without a Midwinterfeest, De Rijp has been part of the municipality of Alkmaar since 2015, and Alkmaar puts on its own Christmas lights every December. I have also written about the Dutch holiday season and how to survive winter here, which is a fair description of what December asks of you.

How to get to De Rijp from Amsterdam

De Rijp has no railway station. Bus 305 runs from Amsterdam Centraal via Purmerend and stops in the village, and the full run takes about fifty minutes. By car it is roughly the same, up the A8 and A7. During the Midwinterfeest the old centre is closed to traffic, so check the festival site for where to park before you set off.

Once you are there you walk. The old centre is a few streets long, and the festival is laid out so you can wander between the performances without a plan. Dress appropriately for spending a few hours in the cold.

Sheep in a straw-filled pen strung with fairy lights at the Midwinterfeest in De Rijp
Two shopkeepers in Victorian costume behind the counter of a De Rijp gift shop
Villagers in period dress passing a clipped box garden and a lit stall in De Rijp
A costumed figure in a cloak beside a lit barn door in a De Rijp back garden
Pony and cart waiting between straw bales on a decorated street in De Rijp
Shop window of whaling prints and model boats lit up for the Midwinterfeest
A bench with a folded blanket and pine cones outside a lit De Rijp window
Two glowing wreaths on the black timber gable of a house in De Rijp
An old pram trimmed with fairy lights in a De Rijp alley during the Midwinterfeest
The De Rijp canal at dusk with the church tower and lit trees behind
Christmas trees lit in the windows of a brick house on a De Rijp street
A model sailing ship framed by fishing net and fairy lights in a De Rijp window
A doll in a red and pink costume resting against a wall at the Midwinterfeest
A lit gallery window and sculpture on a De Rijp street during the Midwinterfeest
A traditional sailing barge lit up beside the 1630 town hall on the De Rijp canal
The 1630 town hall of De Rijp with a Christmas tree and a moored sailing barge
Lit Christmas trees flanking the door of the Toetie Froetie shop in De Rijp
A fishing net hung on a black timber house as visitors walk a De Rijp street
Passers-by outside Restaurant Oudejans, a 1660 building on De Rijp's main street
Candles laid out under an awning beside a brazier at the Midwinterfeest
A lit tree and two Father Christmas figures on straw outside a De Rijp shop
Steam rising from a food stall under string lights at the Midwinterfeest
Crowds and candlelight along the Christmas market street in De Rijp at night
Lanterns in the window and small lit trees on straw outside a De Rijp house
A lit whale-hunting scene installed in a canal, a nod to De Rijp's whaling past
Merry Christmas painted on the window of a lit gabled house in De Rijp
A full moon above a golden-lit house and candlelit railing in De Rijp
Lit silhouettes of Victorian figures standing on straw along a De Rijp street
Performers in bear costumes on a bench in front of painted whale-tail windows
Lit fish traps and branches along a narrow street in De Rijp after dark
Gabled houses reflected in the water at the end of the Midwinterfeest evening

Stay tuned for more and follow Amsterdamian on Instagram and Facebook for more stories about life in the Netherlands, written by a real local, updated constantly.

Check out my photo book: Amsterdam Through the Seasons!

Love what you’re reading? Support my work with a small donation.

Subscribe to the newsletter!

And share this post if you liked it!

Related posts: