Clearly I will not be parlaying my blog into a grander book deal or selling movie rights - SINCE I HAVEN'T WRITTEN A POST FOR NEARLY A MONTH!! But, in my defense, the three weeks since my last post have been chock FULL of educational and cultural experiences. For now, let's get caught up on the cultural...
Carneval! or is it Karnevale? Or Carnival? Either way, Carneval in the south of the Netherlands is a grand event with drinks and food and costumes... for an American, think of the love child between halloween, mardi gras, and a NYC street fair.
Carneval is a close relative of Mardi Gras, and much like the American version, this is only celebrated in the southern part of the country. It is hard to believe that a country as small as The Netherlands breaks itself up, north and south, but basically south of "the rivers" is where the celebration is most alive. The tradition is deeply rooted in catholicism, and dates back to the 100 years that Spain had control over Holland, from the 16th until the 17th centuries. It is the first celebration of a pending spring, and is the last chance to get your "sin on" before the 40 days of lent.
Perhaps my favorite part of Carneval is the pure, down-to-earth FUN of it. Families come together with a costume theme, groups of friends stage what I would call a "living story". In the picture above, a group is dressed in equestrian attire, and set up a jump in the middle of the street, and are acting out a silly and pretentious horse show! The wheelbarrow to the side is loaded with carrots and tools for cleaning stalls! It is an event that is FUN for everyone. The whole family participates and joins the parade. It is not an excuse to run around mostly naked. Costumes took more planning than just adding "sexy" to any profession.
Carneval starts on November 11th, "the 11th of the 11th" and this is when groups start planning their masterpiece costumes. As the actual festivities approach, the prince of carneval arrives at 1:11 on the saturday, with parades of costumes, bands and music on Saturday and Sunday. The whole party keeps rocking until Tuesday evening - which is why much of the Netherlands (south of the rivers) basically shuts down. Schools cancel classes, businesses have shorter hours, and the party goes on! Even businesses in the center of Maastricht - the heart of carneval - will board up at night because the party is just too real!
Of course, I cannot only share the plywood. Maastricht is an absolutely beautiful and very old city. I don't know if I would have made it to Maastricht if not for carneval, so I am grateful not only to have taken part in the cultural celebration, but to see an ancient and beautiful city. Dating back to roman times, Maastricht has an identity all its own from the other Dutch cities that I have visited.
A true borrel, if you aren't dressed and painted, you are just not prepared for the good times!
I didn't have a costume but was still able to take in all the excitement of the event. My friend and colleague, Adrienne - fellow Fulbrighter - had some face paint to share. I attempted to be creative, but fell a little flat.
I think my favorite parts of carneval are the freedom to have fun, everyone gets in on it, and its a good and SAFE experience. People are just free to hang out, be silly and goofy and dance. A good distraction from the long winter as you plan your exciting costume, waiting for the big event, followed by the opportunity to less loose and be free while you wait for the last six weeks of winter to just go away. Carneval is a wonderful party, and there's not even the stress of finding a place to pee, at least for the guys...
