3/3/17

The Carnival of Binche

The Carnival of Binche is a world renowned celebration that begins preparation at Christmas and ends with parades, fireworks, dancing and more from Sunday (6 weeks before Ash Wednesday) to the Shrove days. During the pre-festival activities, there are drum rehearsals, music rehearsals, balls, and lots of costumes. On Shrove Sunday, the Gilles, Peasants, Pierrots, and Alequins wear an elaborate costume that had been secretly planned months before (“Carnival de Binche”). Shrove Monday is dedicated to children, and is famous for confetti fights. There is also dancing, drum and viola music, parades, and fireworks. Finally, Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) is the finale of the celebrations. On this day, Gilles parade around the town with their red, black, and yellow costumes and famous wax masks in the morning. In the afternoon, they parade again without the masks, but this time wearing huge ostrich-plumed hats and throwing oranges. This is the day for family, and there is lots of dancing as well as the famous fireworks to end the festival.

The History of the Binche Carnival

It is thought that this Carnival dates back to the 1400's, but may have even began in pagan times. One theory about its beginnings is that "the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to a bit of debauchery, after a period of fasting" (Alison, Cheesweb). However, because no one really knows how the Carnival de Binche really started, people have enjoyed making up legends. One of the most famous ones is that the Gille's costumes is based off of Incas who were dancing for the Hungarian Royal Court.

Though the origin may not be widely known, the costumes and traditions have remained nearly the same for centuries. I hope to experience more of the Carnival de Binche in coming years!

Sources

• http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/carnival-of-binche-00033 • http://www.carnavaldebinche.be/home-eng.html • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Binche • https://cheeseweb.eu/2015/01/carnival-binche-unesco-designated-festival-belgium/ • http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/carnival-of-binche