Carnival is the exuberant folk festival of the Netherlands, which this year is celebrated from 3 to 5 March. Originally only occurring in the south, carnival is now also celebrated in other parts of the country. Are you going to celebrate carnival this year? We have listed all the facts, trivia and trends for you, so that you can start carnival fully prepared.
Carnival is traditionally celebrated as the party before you start fasting. During this Catholic festival, where the southerners dress up and escape the strict eye of others, you can do whatever you want for three days. But there is some discussion about those three days among many carnival celebrators. Officially, carnival starts on a Sunday and lasts three days. However, many cities start on Friday or Saturday with parades and parties. And in some villages and cities you can even go wild on Thursday evening. Why? Just because you can! Tuesday evening is often the last evening of carnival. From the Catholic faith, this is Lent. At midnight, the 40-day Lent period begins, until Easter.
The preparations for carnival start on November 11, which carnival celebrators call the eleventh of the eleventh. On this day, also known as the mad day, the council of eleven chooses the Prince Carnival of that year. During carnival, Prince Carnival and his council take over the city or village where they celebrate carnival. This happens because the key to the municipality is handed over to the prince. During carnival, there are fun parties, parades and pub crawls. Everyone dresses up for this party and wears the best carnival clothes. Whether you dress up as a clown , pirate or superhero , everyone has a fun outfit in which he or she can really let loose. The party often starts early in the afternoon and continues until the early hours.
Oeteldonk, Kruikenstad, Kielegat, Heikneuterrijk, Knotsenburg, Trekkersgat, cities and villages are given a real carnival name during carnival. In Limburg, a Limburg dialect is often used; for example, Maastricht is called 'Meestrech'. But in Brabant, it is traditional to give cities a completely different name, such as Lampegat (Eindhoven), Kielegat (Breda) and Oeteldonk (Den Bosch). This tradition also continues in the rest of the country. Amersfoort, where they also celebrate carnival, is called Trekkersgat, for example. The names of these cities and villages often go back a long way! Kruikenstad (Tilburg), for example, will be 100 years old in 2019. This is also celebrated in style.
In many cities and villages there is a carnival parade during carnival. The carnival parade is often the highlight of carnival. The procession of beautifully decorated floats and people is a big party. Many carnival associations start building a carnival float months in advance. With a steel frame, paper mache and the craziest colors, these associations make the most beautiful floats. After the parade, prizes are often awarded to the association with the most beautiful carnival floats and the best walking groups.
And in the evening there are carnival parades, they are also called light parades. In Brabant you can admire some beautiful lighted parades. On Saturday in Standdaarbuiten, Loosbroek and Boxmeer, on Sunday in Berghem and on Tuesday in Dongen and Biezenmortel.
Alaaf! is the cheerful word that is used as a greeting during carnival. It is also used during carnival as a toast, with a glass of alcohol or as a cheerful exclamation. Alaaf! became famous because the people of Maastricht used it during carnival, but it originally comes from Cologne. Here, Alaaf! has been used since the eighteenth century. But not everywhere in Brabant, as many non-Brabant and Limburg people think, the shouting of Alaaf is used. In Den Bosch, they do not use it. Last year, La Place made the mistake of putting 'Alaaf!' in large letters on a billboard with sausage rolls. This caused quite a stir in Den Bosch. However, parts of Brabant and Limburg do use this greeting. In West Brabant, they use 'Agge mar leut et', which means 'if you only have fun'.
The question that can keep you awake a few weeks to months before carnival: how am I going to dress up this year? Many groups of friends dress up as a unit or team, but we also see many duos. What is often a trend is to go along with current events. For example, in 2019 many people from Brabant will dress up as the robbers from the Spanish series ' la casa de papel ' or as the cheerleaders from the series 'Riverdale'. In addition, it is always fun to go all out. For example, go with your entire group of friends as tough cowboys on horseback or cheerful hippies .
If you are going to celebrate carnival in Oeteldonk (Den Bosch), leave your carnival outfit at home. A real Oeteldonker does not dress up but wears a farmer's smock. This is often decorated with frogs and red-white-yellow accents. Without a smock, but a fancy dress outfit, you will not even be able to enter some pubs in Den Bosch.
Besides the exuberant fancy dress costumes and fun parades, Carnival is known for its music. Every year new songs are released. Carnival songs are often made to a well-known tune and sung in Brabant or Limburg. Are you going to carnival this year? Then learn these songs by heart, so that you can sing along loudly later:
We wish you a lot of fun during Carnival 2019!
