The Carnaval Celebrations

Here in Belgium they celebrate not only Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but also Dimanche Gras and Lundi Gras (Fat Sunday and Monday). Honestly...they celebrate the whole week of Carnaval! Schools are even out for the week so everyone can join in the celebration! And we decided to join in too last Sunday in Binche, Belgium.

Our friends Liz & Matt and their two girls Grace and Audrey were heading there as well so we all decided to hop a train to Binche. This was my first experience with the actual trains (not just the trams or subway) and I was relieved to find it was quite easy to navigate. So easy I even thought about Autumn and I heading back to Binche on Tuesday for the main celebration....I'm kinda bummed now that we didn't...oh well, maybe next year.

We definitely enjoyed our time watching all the festivities on Sunday. It seems Carnaval is Belgium's "Halloween" of sorts. Everyone...and I mean everyone...was dressed up! Many in elaborate outfits. The streets were packed and alive with the celebration. It kinda made me wish we had all dressed up for the occasion...I guess there is always next year. We wandered around taking it all in.

Watching this girl as she showered the unsuspecting people below her with buckets of confetti. (note the chicken wire on the windows of the buildings too...that is for the Mardi Gras festivities where oranges are thrown in to the crowd...I guess one too many broken windows through the years and they've all wised up because they were on every building.

Watching these bees put on a show for anyone that would pay attention.

And these Ostrich riding folk were my absolute favorite. It totally made me think of Swiss Family Robinson and the ostrich races. What a clever costume...I can only imagine the time and effort they put into creating something like this.

It was a great people watching place and I thoroughly enjoyed it! We also noticed the beautiful yellow Mimosa flower speckled throughout the crowd. People carrying bouquets, wearing corsages...street vendors selling it by the bushel.

I couldn't find an English speaking person to tell me what the significance of it was, but from what I've found online it is a common flower in France that signifies the coming of Spring. There are even several "Mimosa Carnival's" in France to celebrate the flower itself.

After a few hours we decided it was time to head home. The parade was just starting, but we're pretty certain it's mostly just a somewhat organized procession of the folks we've seen wandering around all afternoon in their elaborate costumes. So we all hoped back on the train and headed home. We had a blast celebrating "Fat Sunday" with our friends...and hopefully we'll be able to return next year to soak up even more fun at the Carnaval :o)