Carnival season: Belgian cities prepare to celebrate their folklore traditions

Beware scissor-wielding ladies and masked men lobbing oranges and onions as carnival season descends on Belgium.

On the eve of Lent, towns around the country are getting ready to throw a good celebration. The centrepiece of carnival is a procession characterised by revellers wearing outlandish costumes and a series of ceremonies aimed at upsetting social norms. Many of these folklore traditions date from medieval times, in addition to pagan rituals seeking to banish winter spirits before the arrival of spring.

Here are six upcoming carnival celebrations to whet your appetite for Belgium at its most bizarre!

FLANDERS

Knokke-Heist 1-4 March

If you’re headed to the coast, don’t miss the seaside resort’s busy programme of activities. It begins with a mass to fishermen lost at seas and continues with the selection of the carnival prince(ess) followed by a children’s ball in Sfeerplein De Bolle. The highlights are a big parade on Sunday and an illuminated evening parade on Tuesday. Admire the fantastical hand-made costumes that are the result of laborious preparation and a collaboration with numerous associations. On Monday it’s the Merfolk Ball and an opportunity to sample a variety of fish snacks and sprats. Meanwhile, a masked football match on Tuesday draws the crowds before the traditional burning of effigies, an illuminated procession and partying throughout the town. 

Aalst Carnival  2-4 March

The Flemish Brabant town boasts Unesco heritage recognition for its long-standing carnival activities. It also courts controversy for its infamous bad taste: satirical depictions of politicians and other public figures, along with lewd and raunchy humour. The carnival stages the biggest parade of floats in the country on the Sunday. It starts in Statieplein – where grandstand tickets are already sold out – and travels through the town centre to the Grote Markt. The festivities continues on Monday with an abbreviated version of Sunday’s parade and the appearance of the Gilles of Aalst – men in distinctive historical costumes who perform age-old rituals to ward off evil and welcome spring. On Tuesday, the voil jeanetten, or dirty Jeannettes – men in weirdly accessorised women’s dress – take to the streets.

Vilvoorde 4 March

The famous light parade on Shrove Tuesday kicks off at 19.30 with no fewer than 23 floats. They conclude their procession at the Virgo Plus school where each group takes to the stage. The school also hosts a free facepainting session for children from 17.00-19.00, while fairground attractions are set up in Rooseveltlaan from 1 to 9 March.

WALLONIA

Malmedy 1-4 March

Known as the Cwarmê in local Walloon dialect, this four-day party is replete with cross-dressing and satiric antics. One of the oldest carnival traditions in Belgium, it kicks off on Saturday with the arrival of the Grosse Police, some 1,500 transvestites representing the 15 traditional masks of the Cwarmê who perform the dance of the Haguete and the Harlequins. On Shrove Tuesday all the carnival societies take to the streets and the event comes to a close with the burning of the Haguète. 

Binche 2-4 March

Belgium’s most illustrious carnival tradition also enjoys Unesco recognition. The pinnacle of the three-day party in the walled Hainaut town is Tuesday’s parade of more than 900 Gilles, a select brotherhood of men dressed in distinctive heralded costumes and painted wax masks. These are later swapped for rare ostrich-plumed headgear when they pelt onlookers with oranges. This is preceded by a firework display on Monday evening, while Sunday’s activities centre on the Gilles, who show off their elaborate costumes in a noisy parade around town.  

Nivelles 8-11 March

The biggest carnival celebration in Brabant Walloon gathers some 700 Gilles, harlequins and other costumed characters. As in Binche, the rhythmic beat of clogged feet ring out, onlookers are pelted by oranges and a procession of folklore groups on the Sunday transforms the town centre into a giant party. A children’s carnival is staged on Saturday.