Fun & Famous
11X WHY EVERYONE SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN CARNIVAL
Okay. I'm now at risk of throwing away all the credibility I've carefully built up in the editorial, Amsterdam region in one minute. But so be it. I'm just going to do it. I love carnival. What am I saying, love? I ADORE carnival. And then the traditional variant. Where the farmer's costumes come down from the attic and you stitch a huge flower garden onto your hat. It's called Vastenavend here, that Catholic party for Lent (which is actually not Catholic at all, but pagan).
Or I could explain a few points from down here, far below the rivers, about why you should participate in carnival. Uhm, no. Can't do it. I actually have about a hundred thousand plausible points on why you should head down south during times of fun (yes, that's what they call it). But since I'm a proponent of being short and concise... Haaa, just kidding of course. Tomorrow is the eleventh of the eleventh, the start of the carnival season, so I will lovingly tell you in eleven detailed points why celebrating carnival is a fun idea.
1. The ensemble
In January, I pull needle and thread out of the closet because everything I wear is crafted together by myself. A flower hat, curtains on the coat, a mop (because we mop our way from pub to pub) and the farmer's skirt. I try to give my signature look to my buddies. Sounds a bit less charming than ensemble, right? But everything that has to do with exuberant dressing, undressing, or changing is fashion (well, almost).
2. On the street
You don't walk from pub to pub here; half of those joyful times are spent outside (think festival chaos, but under the inspiring guidance of a false trumpet). And if you plan to move, you do it while mopping. Preferably following a band. Then you swirl through the streets until the band in the next little café blows the roof off.
3. Young and old
Yes, you celebrate carnival with friends. But also with the kids, a stray grandpa or grandma, the neighbor from down the street, that friendly guy from the cigar shop around the corner... It's a party for young kids, but also for grandmothers who secretly sip Schrobbelèr from lemonade glasses.
4. The traditions
If you guys have a vino tomorrow night, I'll be doing the seven jumps with about a thousand other people at a statue of a goat. As if it's Wednesday afternoon at 12 o'clock and the coolest children's party with an elephant and juggler is about to start, that's how it feels. The eleventh of the eleventh is the start of the season, and that means... It's still far from over, far from over.
“I love carnival. What am I saying, love?"
”I ADORE carnival."
5. A dance and a tune
Got slick moves? Well, leave those at home. Dancing to mop music is a mix between a waltz and some hopping. Everyone can do it. But even if you're not much of a public dancer, you'll get your feet off the floor. Even my boyfriend has his hands in the air (and that's a rarity, believe me). The Gebroeders Ko with their jet ski don't make it in, the songs are from Brabant with influences from classical music.
6. The reunion
Our friends have spread out quite a bit over the years. But not during Vastenavend, no. Careful days off are reserved for that, the old children's room gets spruced up, and everyone comes en masse to mom and dad's house. You see them all again. Not for an hour, but for four extensive weekends. And that's one big party.
7. Staying over
My house is no longer my house. Okay, a little less pleasant. The guests behave exemplary on day one, but by day four, all decorum is gone. That's not a home makeover, but a home takeover. On Wednesday, I scrub myself silly, but it's so much fun.
8. Hey, it's a party
And parties are fun. Especially when the party lasts almost a month.
9. And you drink a little drink
Do you think it's just a drinking fest down there by the river? Think again. A nice drink is enjoyed, but that's certainly not the most important thing. You celebrate the dark days away with the absolute best people. Look, there's no winter blues left standing.
10. The anticipation
You do that from the sad, last Tuesday evening (even if you're exhausted) until the eleventh of November. In the summer, you suddenly get homesick for the party when you're vacuuming up some stray confetti from behind the baseboard. You count down in elevens. Six times eleven days left, five times eleven days left, four times eleven days left. Oh, is it almost tomorrow?
11. And that only you understand
I know that look all too well. Like: my god, you seemed to have everything up there in order, but do you celebrate carnival? That. Almost no one understands it until you celebrate it. So come on, just do it once. But then in the traditional way, leave that Mega Mindy outfit at home.
