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Published: February 17th 2010
The Prince of Carnaval
He arrived at the Maastricht Central Station on Saturday & there was a parade to mark his arrival on the Market Square. As promised, here's my take on Carnaval in Maastricht:
The Carnaval festivities began on Saturday (February 13) & continued until Tuesday night (February 16). The entire time, there was craziness in the streets of Maastricht. Saturday started when the Prince of Carnaval arrived at the Central Station. From there, there was a parade to his monument on the Market (in front of my house). There was a lot of singing (& a ton of beer drinking). Marching bands were EVERYWHERE so it was ridiculous & not quite for a minute. Sunday was the official start of Carnaval. They fired 11 gunshots on the Vrijthof Square & raised the Mooswief. The Mooswief is symbolic of a traditional and typical woman selling vegetables on the market in Maastricht. Over time the Mooswief tradition has become deeply embedded, there’s even a Mooswief statue on the Market Square. There was also a HUGE parade throughout the city center.
People here definitely go all out when it comes to Carnaval. People of all ages celebrate - from children in strollers to individuals who are collecting retirement benefits. And all of them are having a great time! The costumes are out of this world. It's
Parade
This is an example of how extensive the costumes were. Now imagine these costumes but on a greater scale... like Halloween in the States, but multiplied by a million. The people of the Limburg Province put a lot of time and money into their costumes. They were the most extravagant things I've ever seen. Feathers, sequins, lights, face paint, you name it... the costumes had it. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. And it wasn't as if only one or two of these people were wearing extensive costumes - EVERYBODY had an extensive costume. Incredible.
The music that was played was traditional Limburg "folk" music. It sounds a lot like polka music with a lot of accordion sounds. After a while, however, all the songs begin to sound the same - especially when you have no idea what the lyrics are. But everyone from Maastricht knows every song & sings along with them. It's very impressive.
There are beer trucks set up everywhere. It was very interesting to drink a beer outside in the snow (it snowed all week) because it was something that I've never done before. It was sheer craziness. Since the legal drinking age here is 16, there were YOUNG kids partaking in the debauchery, so that was also a new experience. Very
Parade
Barack Obama made a guest appearance at Carnaval. :) interesting. The impressive part is that the people that we would see out drinking at 11 in the morning were still hanging in there by 11 at night. That's dedication to the Carnaval spirit!
The streets are covered in confetti & streamers. I feel bad for the guy who has to clean up all that mess. However, with the snow cover, the streets are pretty. It looks like a confetti cake (yum) because the colors come through.
To sum up, Carnaval is like a multi-day Mardi Gras. It's an excuse to party & "sin" before the kickoff of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Essentially, however, it's craziness that attracts people from all over the Netherlands, Germany, & Belgium. Since the Limburg Province is one of the only Catholic provinces in the country, people from all over come here to partake in Carnaval. Needless to say, the streets were packed, & I'm sure the rail & bus systems were swamped with people making their way to Maastricht! All in all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll definitely never forget!
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