Great Destinations for the Carnival Celabration
Traditionally ‘Carnival’ is a celebration which marks the start of the period of the year known to Christians as ‘Lent’, though it is in predominantly Catholic countries that it is celebrated with the most enthusiasm. Before Lent begins, all meats, fats, sugar and dairy products should be used up and this was generally done by having a big feast or ‘carnival’. In Protestant countries pancakes are eaten on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent starts, but there are no big parties or parades of the kind seen in Catholic countries.
The best known Carnival celebrations are held in Italy and Brazil. In Italy the most lavish events take place in Venice where a masked parade is one of the key events. Visitors travel from all over the world to take part in the Venetian ‘carnevale’ or to watch the colourful parades and, as a result, all accommodation is booked up more than a year in advance. Carnival celebrations take place all over Brazil too but it is the over-the-top party of Rio de Janeiro that most spectators wish to see. As in Venice, prices rise and there’s barely a room to be found, such is the attraction of this colourful spectacle.
It is possible, however, to enjoy carnival without breaking the bank. If you can afford to visit Brazil, but can’t get booked up, you could consider Bolivia, Peru or Mexico. The countries of Central America all have their own distinctive parties too and are easily accessible from the United States. Many of the Caribbean islands also celebrate Carnival though these festivals tend to be in the months of July and August and their roots lie in the traditional celebration of the end of the sugar harvest rather than a religious or folk festival.
If the key elements of the Rio festivities – loud samba music, colourful costumes and partying into the early hours - appeal to you, consider French Guiana as an alternative destination. There the celebrations go on for two months, though admittedly only at weekends when the whole country stops to party. While Carnival here has many of the same characteristics as the celebration in other parts of South America, there are certain distinctive elements that are special to French Guiana.
During this period the weekend kicks off with cake and champagne; the cakes are known as ‘galette des rois’ and are flavoured with coconut or guava. This rather quaint and refined activity is a complete contrast with the Creole tradition of the ‘touloulous’. The touloulous are women who dress up in elaborate costumes that cover them from head to toe so that no part of their face, body or hair is visible.
On Friday and Saturday nights during Carnival, big dances are held where the touloulous are admitted free of charge; men do not wear costumes and must pay to get in. At its most basic level this is simply an opportunity for women to anonymously approach the men they are interested in (in the interests of promoting good sexual health practices, condoms are given away free of charge). It’s a tradition that has been observed during carnival for many years though nowadays there are a growing number of events in which the men dress up as ‘tololo’ and, from behind their disguises, can approach the women that catch their eye.
Sundays are parade days and bands and dancers wearing magnificent outfits march and dance through the streets of cities such as Cayenne and Kourou. As well as the musicians and dancers, these parades often feature traditional characters such as the ‘karolin’, usually played by a child wearing a bird’s tail and a top hat, riding on the back of a shrew; and the Nèg'marrons, young men whose bodies are smeared with substances such as treacle who try to come into contact with those in the crowd to make their clothes sticky.
Getting to French Guiana is not particularly easy.Air Francehas a daily flight from Paris but it may be possible to fly to destinations such as Recife in Brazil and travel into French Guiana overland. Taking a trip to the country is an undertaking for dedicated independent travellers but it’s ultimately very rewarding.
In Europe too Carnival is celebrated widely and in many different ways. If you are looking for a destination that is at the heart of Europe, easy to access, and that is reasonably priced, you need look no further than Slovenia. Here the Carnival period is known as Pust and it is connected with the old folk traditions, especially of the rural areas. Nowhere is the festival more enthusiastically celebrated than in the picturesque town of Ptuj, reputedly the oldest settlement in Slovenia, where the climax is known as ‘kurentovanje’. The tradition varies from village to village but the basic premise is the same: the winter is driven out by the ‘kurenti’ in order to make way for the spring.
The kurent costume comprises an enormous shaggy sheepskin garment and a tall furry headdress which is decorated with colourful long ribbons. The outfit is finished off with a mask that, with a protruding long red tongue, can look very menacing. As the kurenti parade through the town, they jangle their belts which are adorned with bells, and they carry a wooden club to which women tie handkerchiefs as the kurenti pass by. There are two types of kurenti, one type coming from the village of Markovci, the other, distinguished by horns in their headdresses, hail from the hills of the Haloze region.
Today’s celebration is a ten day event that has become aninternational cultural festival. Although the traditions go back a long way, a deliberate decision was made in the 1960s to form a committee to organise an annual event to ensure that the traditions were not lost for future generations. As well as the parades there are evening parties and concerts by performers from Slovenia and other countries. During the day there are food events and a childrens’ masquerade. The events appeal to people of all ages and although there are similar events all over the country, the events in Ptuj are the best attended with around 100,000 visitors each year (for a country with less than 2 million inhabitants this is no mean feat).
As Slovenia is a small country people are able to drive to most places and get home again in a reasonable time so there is not the pressure on hotel rooms. However, if rooms in Ptuj should be hard to come by, tourists could always stay in the nearby city of Maribor and travel to Ptuj, no more than a thirty minute drive way. Alternatively visitors may be able to find accommodation in one of the traditional villages the kurenti come from.
In the Haloze, tourists can stay in renovated vineyard cottages such as the one atHaloze Lavender Farm. Slovenia’s position at the centre of Europe means that incoming tourists can fly directly to the country’s capital with budget airlines likeWizz Air, from other European cities such as London and Brussels, or to airports in neighbouring Italy, Austria and Croatia and drive into Slovenia.
Tourists looking to share in the Carnival experience in Europe and beyond should look past the obvious destinations which can get very busy over this period. There are so many different events and destinations that you are literally spoiled for choice.
