Once upon a time Wednesday - Carnaval

Belgium is considered a Catholic country as is the southern area of the Netherlands.  Many of its practices and traditions come from Catholic culture. Some of these traditions are interwoven with other cultural traditions. 

From Ash Wednesday until Easter, many will celebrate some form of Lent, although it is not nearly as stringent as in past generations. This is a time of fasting. Many more, especially in the area where we live, will celebrate the days before Ash Wednesday. The Tuesday before is called Shrove Tuesday in English. In French it is known as Fat Tuesday - or better known as "Mardi Gras". 

In the Belgian province of Limburg, and the corresponding province of Limburg in the Netherlands where Maastricht is located, Carnaval is celebrated extensively. In Maastricht it officially begins on the 11th of the 11th - November 11 - at 11:11. It ends on Shrove Tuesday late with some sort of closing ceremony. In Maastricht a copy of a statue on the central market is hoisted in the air. 

The biggest part of Carnaval is the three days leading up to Ash Wednesday. People wear amazing costumes - in the past handmade, but more and more likely store-bought these days. There is lots of music and a specific type of song making fun of all sorts of things. And there is a good bit of drinking - although the real celebrators of Carnaval would say that they do not overly consume, that would be the people from the north who only come to get drunk. 

Carnaval moves with the lunar calendar and is connected to Easter, so it can be early in the year and face extremely frigid temperatures, or later and enjoy some sun. Not everyone from the two Limburgs like the celebration, but everyone knows that they have to take in into account. Stores close and businesses have to deal with employees being gone. And then 40 days of fasting come and people look forward to Easter. 

In 2020 Carnaval coincided with the arrival of a novel virus and everything shut down. in 2022, after 2 years of lockdowns and a year of no celebration, Carnaval announced the return to "normal".