The Carnival is in Town
Tonight is the official kick-off for the 4 day carnival. Every year in February everyone (or at least the southern parts of the country) brace themselves for this festivity. It’s 4 days (and nights for most) of partying, drinking and dressing up in the weirdest clothing. It’s not just a matter of putting on weird combinations of clothes, a lot of preparation goes into it. Some people make their own clothes, others buy them or rent them.
There are different carnival clubs that people have set up. They make parade floats to compete in the parades in different towns. The building starts around November and takes up a lot of free time. My sister and her boyfriend are in one too and will be in a parade this Sunday. If the weather allows it, I will go and watch the parade to cheer them on.
Last year they had an awesome float and a cute dance they did to entertain the audience. The outfit of the club usually matches the theme of the parade float, which makes it even more fun to watch.
When I was younger I loved carnival, as it meant I could stay up late and dance and laugh with the other kids. But now, I don’t think I’ll be celebrating it anymore. I didn’t do it last year, or the year before. I feel the carnival has changed. A lot of out-of-towners come to celebrate it with us, which seems fun but usually they don’t have the ‘true’ spirit of the festival and it ends up in a lot of fighting instead.
Also, the music has changed a lot, it used to be really funny, silly music and now most bars play regular music that you can hear on the radio every day. So for me, the essence of carnival is gone a bit.
But who knows, if a friend calls to go out in the next few days, to a bar that does play the good old carnival music (and there are still bars that do!) I might just get into the craze again and party 
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The Carnival is a religious festivity from origin but not many people (close to no one I’d say) celebrate it for that reason. Nowadays it’s mostly an excuse to party and drink a lot. If you want to know more about Dutch carnival, than go to it’s Wikipedia explanation.
3 Comments on "The Carnival is in Town"
A national celebration? That sounds so awesome! I haven’t been to a carnival in a long, long time… but I do remember being extremely excited when I got the chance to go as a kid.
Too bad we don’t have events like that here 
It would be fun to experience such an activity. Floats are fun to watch, too!
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Carnivals are soooo awesome!!
I wish I can go to one but they always seem like they attract such a huge crowd there wouldn’t be room for me. I hate going into a place with tons and tons of packed people