Maastricht Carnival 2010

“What a wonderful experience. Feels like living one day in a fairy tale town where the all the inhabitants are imaginary creatures and the major of the city dances to the music”

It was never crossed in my mind to wear a silly costume in any celebrations, festivals or what so ever. Every time I saw someone in a silly costume, I always thought that would never occurred to me. I’d rather be the person who laughs at them than the center of attention. But this time let’s get a little bit crazy. Me and other two friends agreed to attend Maastricht Carnival that starts from today onwards until next Tuesday. We made a pact. We will come with costumes like what the Maastrichtians always do every year.

It’s been a local tradition in one of the oldest city of Netherlands to have a big festival and partying three days in a row before they start the Lent period. Schools, stores and offices are closed during these period. Everyone is going to enjoy the celebration.

And there we were: a pirate, a red big hairy monster and a masquerade lady swinging to the Mastricht centrum in the middle of snowing sky. First, we gathered in the big square in front of Saint Servatius church and then soon after some speech from the Major, we headed to the streets to watch the parade.

The parade was very nice and colorful. Every group came with their own themes and for sure they’re very creative. My friend told me that his supervisor who is a native southern Dutch guy would spend 6 month with his family just to prepare the costumes. The common thought that people’s mood depends on the weather was not applied here. Even though the snows fell more and even more, people are so friendly and joyful. Although the temperature dropped to minus one and the weather was snowing quite badly, it did not stop us enjoying the carnival.