Gouda by Candlelight 2023

On December 15, 2023, the 68th edition of Gouda by Candlelight took place. The program kicked off on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 2:00 PM with the opening concert. Simultaneously, other performances began at various locations within and on the streets of Gouda’s city center and on the Market Square.

The highlight of the day was the ceremony at the tree, held between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM. The public lighting was turned off, and the historic town hall, houses, and shops surrounding the market square were illuminated by thousands of Gouda candles.

Want to rewatch the ceremony? Watch the TV West recording here.

In addition, there was plenty to experience at the other 23 locations from 2:00 PM until midnight. The wonderful report by Gouwestad TV gives a great impression of what Gouda’s city center looks like during Gouda by Candlelight (including the bringing in of the tree on December 8th).

Below are some photos taken by photographers for us. If you would like to use a photo, please contact us.

Photo taken from the St. John's Tower, showing the atmospheric lighting of the tree's lights, while the electric lights are turned off as much as possible and candles burn in the windows of the town hall and surrounding buildings.

📸 Remco Gerritsen-Tree Ceremony 2023

Photo moment with the shipping label handed over to Mayor Pieter Verhoeve, Paul Buis and the children's Mayor.

📸 Astrid den Haan

The tree of 2023

Below a carousel of the tree’s adventures. It was felled in the forests around Kongsberg in mid-November. It was transported to Rotterdam by regular freight boat between Norway and the Netherlands. It was brought to the Markt square on December 8th, via the Nederhof grounds in Gouda.

At the Kleiwegbrug bridge, the tree was enthusiastically welcomed by students from Het Groene Eiland primary school, the Celebration band of Gouda’s Harmonie de Pionier, and the children’s council. The tree then arrived at the Markt square at 12:45 pm.

The tree was unpacked, and the shipping label was ceremonially presented to the mayor, children’s mayor, and Paul Buis, chairman of Gouda by Candlelight.

The tree was fitted with a star and then placed in its place on the Markt square.

Decorating began on Monday, December 11th. Due to the strong wind, it was quite a challenge, but on Thursday it was ready for the lighting ceremony the following day.

After a stormy and wet period, the tree will be taken down again on January 8th and will get a third life in the Futseltuin in Korte Akkeren.

Opening concert Gouwe Bigband

This year, Gouda by Candlelight opened once again with a free opening concert at the Goudse Schouwburg. This time, the Gouwe Bigband performed.

They played a diverse repertoire, from soul and jazz to Latin, Christmas songs, and new pop hits featuring Singer Stefanie Kenters and a guest appearance by Sofie de Bruijn.

Below is a carousel of photos by Jan van den Berg.

📸 Jan van den Berg

Tree ceremony

The highlight of Gouda by Candlelight was traditionally the ceremony at the tree from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Thousands of people gathered in the market square. The buildings surrounding the market square were illuminated by thousands of candles, and the public lighting was turned off. A new stage brought more attention to the view of the monumental town hall.

City carillonneur Boudewijn Zwart performed several Christmas carols from the Sint-Janstoren (St. John’s Tower). As is tradition, Mayor Pieter Verhoeve delivered a speech. Pieter Verhoeve thanked the Deputy Mayor of Kongsberg, Just Salvesen, for the donated tree. “Your gift, our Christmas tree, 800 kilos of friendship, is tonight’s shining star.” The ceremony was accompanied by music provided by organist Gerben Budding, teachers from the Gouda Pop School, the girls’ choir Ars Musica, and soprano Nannette Mans. There was a performance by the children of the Bibelebonz, and a poem was recited by city poet Jeffrey van Geenen. This year’s special guest was Jennie Lena.

The countdown to the lighting of the tree was held in Norwegian.

Below a carousel with photos by Astrid den Haan, Jan van den Berg, Jan van der Spree, and Rob Radix

📸 Jan van den Berg

It was also pleasant in other places in the city center.

For years, Gouda by Candlelight is more than just the ceremony at the tree. At 24 locations, with 75 different performances and a total of around 1,000 performers, there was plenty to do in Gouda’s city center from 2:00 PM until the wee hours. New this year was the courtyard of the Raoul Wallenbergplantsoen. You can see what it was like there here.

Below an impression of the farious performances and locations during Gouda by Candlelight 2023.

Thw photo’s in the carrousel are from Astrid den Haan, Jan van den Berg, Jan van der Spree, Jan Spoel and Rob Radix

Photo contest 2023

In previous years, we’d always seen a lot of photos from our followers appearing on social media. We thought that would be a great opportunity for a contest.

We received more than 60 photos from you, and 10 were selected for the Facebook contest.

We received over 1,000 votes, and 3 photos received more than 140 votes per photo. Because of this, we decided to select three winners.

Heleen Verkade
Kim Reijers
Anneke Streefkerk

In the carousel below, you can see the other 7 entries by Menno Arentsen, Leila Gharavi, Beatriz Molina, Agnes Halling, Esther Klijn, Alexandra Kamer en Hans Colijn