Christmas Traditions: Christmas Circus

From December 21, 2024, to January 5, 2025, the Great Christmas Circus The Hague returns to the Malieveld. Under the title 'Everything in Wonderland', a fairytale spectacle full of spectacular acts unfolds. Have you already bought tickets for the whole family and all the (grand)children? What do you know about 'Alice in Wonderland'?

Christmas Circus

A Christmas circus is a circus performance held around Christmas. A Christmas circus is usually a family event, often attended by families with (young) children. Various Christmas circuses are held in the Netherlands. Some well-known Christmas circuses are held, such as the International Circus Festival in Enschede, the International Christmas Winter Circus at the Parktheater in Eindhoven, the Christmas Circus at Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Cirque d'Hiver in Roermond, the World Christmas Circus at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, and the Great Christmas Circus in The Hague, which takes place annually on the Malieveld.

Also the Circus Herman Renz had a Christmas/winter circus. This took place annually in Haarlem. Winter Circus Martin Hanson is one of the oldest Christmas circuses in the Netherlands (since 1979) and is still the only touring Christmas circus. The Christmas Circus in Ahoy took place for the last time in 2023. The producer of this circus, Fernand Banning, retired that year and could not be replaced. As a result, this circus could no longer be organized after 2023.

Great Christmas Circus The Hague

From December 21, 2024, to January 5, 2025, the Great Christmas Circus The Hague returns to the Malieveld. Under the title 'Everything in WonderlandA fairytale spectacle unfolds, full of spectacular acts. The common thread is illusionist Alexandra Saabel. Inspired by the famous fairytaleAlice in WonderlandWith this performance, she takes the audience to a world where anything is possible. Hares juggle, a fairy sends chocolates flying through the air with her feet, and caterpillars transform into aerial acrobats. This unique atmosphere serves as the setting for a show filled with internationally award-winning circus acts. The Great Christmas Circus The Hague is the ultimate family show during the Christmas holidays. Book your tickets now!

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland, or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is a book by the British author Lewis Carroll. He wrote the story in 1865. Since then, Alice in Wonderland has grown into a “modern fairy tale” with which many children in English-speaking countries grow up. The book is about Alice, who one day follows a white rabbit. Through a hollow tree trunk, she enters another world called Wonderland. In this world, she encounters various animals, including the dodo, the mouse, the caterpillar, and the Cheshire Cat. She also meets the Duchess and the Mad Hatter. The book features rather strange events and nonsensical situations. Nonsense plays a major role in the book. The story also became famous through the Disney animated film version, Alice in Wonderland, from 1951. In 1871, Lewis Carroll published a sequel to the book: Alice Through the Looking-Glass.

Alice in Wonderland is based on a real-life girl: Alice Liddell. She was the daughter of the dean at the university where Lewis Carroll worked and lived. Carroll was good friends with the family and visited often. He had a particularly close bond with Liddell and took her on boat trips in a rowboat. During one of these trips, Carroll began telling stories in which Alice played the leading role. For Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell was his muse. She inspired him to write more stories. He developed these stories into the book *Alice's Adventures Under Ground*. He gave this to Alice Liddell for Christmas in 1864.

The family had severed ties with Lewis Carroll a year earlier. It is unclear exactly why this happened. Lewis Carroll decided to publish his stories as well. The name was changed to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book became a great success and received many positive reviews. Among others, writer Oscar Wilde and the then Queen Victoria were fans of the book. Therefore, in 1871, Lewis Carroll decided to release a sequel, Alice Through the Looking-Glass (and What Alice Found There). The second part sold even better at the time. In 1890, Carroll also created a version of the story for young children (The Nursery Alice). This book is much shorter and simpler. It is intended for children under the age of 5.

In addition, a great deal of research has been done into the meaning behind Alice in Wonderland. Some literary scholars believe that it is a roman à clef. In other words, they believe that (some) characters and events in the book refer to situations in the lives of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll. The character Alice is, of course, inspired by Alice Liddell. The dodo is meant to represent Lewis Carroll himself, and the tea party is Alice's birthday party.

Other literary scholars also see historical references. In the book, the playing cards paint all the white roses red. This is said to be a reference to the Wars of the Roses between House York and House Lancaster. Both houses had roses as their symbol (red for Lancaster and white for York). Social rules and etiquette also play an important role in the book. The book is sometimes seen as a parody of these rules. This is because a lot of nonsense and nonsensical situations occur in the book.

Various themes appear in the book, including: Growing upIn the book, Alice often changes size. The "eat me" cakes make Alice very big, while the "drink me" drinks make her smaller. For Alice, this is very frustrating and traumatic. It also causes her to be completely unhappy with her body. This can be seen as a depiction of puberty.

NonsenseThe book features almost exclusively nonsensical characters and situations. For instance, she attempts to solve the Mad Hatter's riddle and tries to understand the rules of croquet. Each time, she fails to understand even a shred of it. Lewis Carroll was a mathematician himself and occupied himself with games and logic. In the book, he mocks this. In other words, the situations, games, and riddles are illogical, since life is illogical.

IdentityAlice must repeatedly introduce herself to new characters in the book. These characters ask questions about her identity, causing her to begin doubting it herself. For instance, the White Rabbit mistakes her for his maid, and she cannot answer when the caterpillar asks who she is. The Cheshire Cat makes her doubt not only her identity but also her sanity.

DeathDeath also recurs several times as a theme. This is linked to the theme of growing up (adulthood is, after all, the death of a child). Alice finds herself in situations where she sometimes has to fear for her life. The Queen of Hearts wants to behead anyone who angers her. Alice and the caterpillar also have a conversation about metamorphosis (a caterpillar turning into a butterfly), during which death is also discussed.

Alice in Wonderland has been adapted into a film or television series several times. The oldest film based on the book dates back to 1903. The most famous adaptation is probably the 1951 Disney animated film Alice in Wonderland. Although this film is based on the first book, scenes and characters from "Alice Through the Looking-Glass" also appear in the film. To promote the film, Disney produced a special television broadcast in 1950, offering a behind-the-scenes look. In 2010, Disney made a feature film in which an adult Alice returns to Wonderland. This film was such a success that a sequel followed in 2016: Alice Through the Looking-Glass.