This morning at 05:00. Huge noise in the Risdam district of Hoorn. Tycho and Dex walk with big megaphone through the neighbourhood. They celebrate Luilak, a tradition they want to keep up with their parents. “I like to pass this on to the boys. Are they off the tablets and we’re having fun,” says father Klaas.
“It is not done very much anymore,” says Klaas. Since last year, he and his wife Pamela have started to introduce their 10-year-old twins to the age-old tradition. “Last year we started with the four of us, this year the boys from the neighborhood also joined us.”
Klaas used to go out often during Luilak. “I grew up with it. With cans behind the bike or the exhausts off mopeds.” But he notices that nowadays people are not really waiting for it. “In the past, it often brought vandalism along with noise.”
“We only make noise and keep walking. It’s about the fun and the craziness”
Something Klaas and his sons want to stay far away from. “We just make noise and keep walking. It’s about the fun and the craziness.”
The boys have been looking forward to it all year, according to Klaas. They wanted to be on the road this morning at 4:00 am. “They had big smiles on their faces and didn’t know how fast to get their clothes on.”
Once outside, curious neighbors look out the window. A police car drives by to see where the noise is coming from. But some Horinese are not quite waiting for it. “Last year we got ice cubes thrown at us. And some middle fingers. Now an angry man came to us on a cargo bike.”
“We understand that not everyone can appreciate it, but it’s only once a year”
Klaas wants to emphasize that they keep it tidy and above all make noise. “Through reactions I understand that it could even be heard in the center of Hoorn. We understand that not everyone can appreciate it, but it is only once a year.”
Will they go again next year? “I think so. The neighbors who were with us now want to go again next year.”
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