Name: Keti Koti in Netherlands
Start: 20250701T00:00:00+00:00
End: 20250702T00:00:00+00:00
Location: PLACE

About Keti Koti

How long until Keti Koti?

Keti Koti .

Dates of Keti Koti

2026 Netherlands Wednesday, July 1stKeti Koti

2025 Netherlands Tuesday, July 1stKeti Koti

2024 Netherlands Monday, July 1stKeti Koti

2023 Netherlands Saturday, July 1stKeti Koti

2022 Netherlands Friday, July 1stKeti Koti

Summary

Keti Koti is a national commemoration in the Netherlands to mark the abolition of slavery in the Dutch Antilles on July 1st 1863.

Keti Koti means ‘broken chains’ in the Surinamese language Sranantongo.

Keti Koti marks the date when slavery was abolished in Suriname and in the Dutch Antilles in 1863. However, enslaved people would not be fully free until 1873, after a mandatory 10-year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without the state-sanctioned torture that was part of slavery. In the Netherlands, Suriname and in The Dutch Antilles historical slavery is commemorated and the abolition of slavery is celebrated on July 1st.

July 1st is a national commemoration in the Netherlands, but not a national day off.

Keti Koti has been celebrated in various Dutch cities on July 1st since 2002. The national remembrance ceremony takes place in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark from 1pm and is broadcast live on television. The ceremony includes a minute’s silence and wreath-laying.

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