Greetings everyone! In this post I’m showing you the famous carnival in Binche, an old town in the Wallonia part of Belgium.
Binche carnival is an annual festival celebrating Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) during the three days before Lent. Since today is Ash Wednesday, this year’s celebrations just took place the past 3 days. So I’m very excited to share my festive experience with you! :D I only visited Binche on one of the three days a few years ago, and it was a lot of fun, despite the cold and wet weather.
This tradition dates back to around the 14th century and has been recognized as UNESCO heritage. During the carnival each year, over a thousand local males and children dress up as several figures to perform in medieval parade.
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嗨~ 受到SteemitBoard和Wherein节日分享活动的启发，今天就请跟我到比利时的班什感受一下一年一度的狂欢节。
最近是狂欢节高发期，你可能听过意大利威尼斯的狂欢节，欧洲的四大狂欢节还有三个分别在法国尼斯，德国科隆和比利时南部法语区的这个中世纪小古城 —— 班什。真是难得，这么低调的国家竟然光荣跻身Top 4! 我来比利时之前完全不知道这个地方的存在和它每年一次的狂欢节。
今年班什的庆祝就在刚刚过去的这三天！因为今天是圣灰星期三，教会举行涂灰礼，把去年祝圣过的棕枝烧成灰涂在教友的额头上，象征悔改。这是大斋期的第一天，而很多嘉年华的由来就是大斋开始前的最后狂欢放纵，也是辞旧岁迎新春。
比利时的这个也是历史悠久，据说可以追溯到14世纪（然鹅百度百科说是“1554年罗马帝国皇帝的妹妹玛利亚在班什造城池、建宫殿，为欢迎外甥菲利普二世举行盛大宴会，宫廷官员于是化装成各种达官贵人参加宴会。”），已经被联合国教科文组织认定为人类口述和非物质遗产。刚查了下，中国在这名录上的有昆曲、古琴、新疆维吾尔的木卡姆艺术和蒙古族的长调民歌。
当地居民对这个古老的传统深感自豪，自发参与游行，让随着狂欢节保留下来的音乐、舞蹈、服饰、道具制作等得以代代相传。那些连续50年扮装成吉勒的居民还会被市长授予纪念奖章。我几年前去凑了下热闹，在二月，虽然一贯的寒冷阴沉，也没有拉丁族群那种狂热的气氛，但还是很欢乐地。:D
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Decorations on local windows:
当地窗上的节日装饰：
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First, I saw some kids marching through the streets. The main figures in the proceedings are called Gilles. They wear clown-like costumes with bells, and their unique clogs don’t look so easy to walk with. Some of them wear large hats adorned with fluffy ostrich plumes.
It’s said that local men see being a Gille at the carnival as a kind of honor. It’s cool that the residents here try to preserve this old tradition generation after generation. Actually, since I was a night owl, I missed the early morning parade of the carnival’s final day, when Gilles in wax masks (in the last photo) danced to drum beat and warded off evil spirits with sticks.
先是看到一些小孩出街游行。下面这种装束的是狂欢节的核心角色 —— 吉勒。他们身穿类似小丑的服装，配有铃铛，脚踏看上去有些笨重的木屐，有些头戴超大的驼鸟毛帽子，特色鲜明：
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Another 3 groups in different colorful costumes:
还有其他三组身着各色服装的小孩子，有几个真是太萌了：
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These ostrich plumes decorated hats are very finely made, costing about 200 euros to rent:
这些驼鸟羽毛帽做工精致，价值不菲，据说要花200欧左右才能租到一顶：
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They carry a basket full of oranges and throw them to the crowds while marching. The oranges from Gilles are considered gifts with good luck, so we all try to catch the flying fruits from the middle of the street when standing at the side:
游行角色们手提篮子，在激昂的奏乐中不断向观众扔橘子，据说接到这些橘子代表会交好运，所以我们这些吃瓜群众就在街道两边各种疯狂争抢，哈哈：
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A boy standing high: “I’m not tall enough, but I really want the oranges”:
个小不要紧，只要站得高：
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Fishing oranges - works like a charm:
这个。。。是捞鱼的网吗？;)
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And they go the extra mile - making it into heart shape with their website on it:
这个更厉害 —— 做成心形不过瘾，还要放上自己的网站打广告，哈哈哈：
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Apparently locals have some advantages there - harvesting oranges easily with all kinds of nets. ;) But they also have to fence their windows, as there were properties damaged in the past by the orange bullets.
当地吃瓜居民近水楼台先得月~ :) 各种网篮齐出动，不用像我们这些外来人口一样拼命争抢，只要悠闲地接应几下，就可以确保橘子大丰收。当然也是有危险的，据说曾有很多窗户被砸坏，所以都做了防护栏：
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The instrument also needs protection against flying oranges:
吹奏乐器的也准备了防护网，要不被四处飞的橘子堵住可就没的吹啦：
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Poor oranges everywhere:
可怜的橘子们：
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“Hi, I have my own costume and drink~”
自娱自乐：
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The little one is tired from all the marching and throwing oranges:
这位小吉勒估计累瘫了：
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And a dinosaur:
还有小恐龙：
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A flamenco dancer? :D Too cute!
这可爱的小女娃是来跳弗拉明戈的嘛？
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Unicorns of course:
嘉年华当然也少不了独角兽啦：
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The end of the parade:
化装游行落幕 —— 留给你们一个孤独的背影。貌似晚上还有烟火和广场舞，但是一直在寒风中举着相机狂拍的我手都快冻僵了，觉得还是回家暖和一下才是正经事 > <：
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Finally, 2 statues on the way to parking lot:
最后，去停车场路上看到的两尊嘉年华人物雕像：
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Here are my fruits of victory from the carnival. They are not the suitable type for eating directly though.
带着战利品回家，后来做成了果酱，因为这种橘子又苦又酸，不是一般人可以直接吞下的。。。
So that’s it for this fun carnival. Have you been to a carnival? Tell me your experience in the comments please! :)
好了，班什狂欢节就秀到这里~ 你去过什么印象深刻的嘉年华吗？来留言告诉我呗！
图文 by Donica多
Photos shot with Canon Kiss X3
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Here are some of my travel shots. Check out my posts on Steemit World Map, and follow me for more adventures around the globe!
下面是我的一些旅途摄影。欢迎查看我的Steemit世界地图，跟我一起环游世界~！
!steemitworldmap 50.411732 lat 4.165886 long Binche, Belgium d3scr
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