Carnaval in Binche, Belgium

Okay, so sometimes I like to wait a while before I post. Not this time because what I'm going to share here was an adventure and the hassle was worth it for what I saw in Binche, Belgium to celebrate Mardi Gras.

So, since the 14th century, the small Walloon town of Binche has had a unique Carnaval celebration. In 2003 it was named a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. Not known for much else, Binche does Carnaval right and takes it very seriously. Starting at 4am or so, the Gilles -- about 1,000 or so men and boys -- begin to rouse their fellow Gilles and the town by marching around, banging drums, waving straw, ringing bells, and stomping their wooden shoes. They also start drinking around 6am.

In the morning there is a parade from the train station to the center of town -- the City Hall -- where all the Gilles wear their costume and masks that represent the sameness of everyone before God. (This is in part a religious and harvest celebration.) Once they reach the center of the city they take off their masks and mill around until 3:30pm.

At 3:30pm the parade begins. The Gilles put on these huge ostrich feather plumed hats, carry baskets full of blood oranges, and throw them into -- and at-- the crowd. The older kids, of course, throw them really hard, so many stores and homes put metal grates over their windows to protect the glass. The oranges represent wealth (gold) and are signs of good luck and prosperity for the coming spring. You *never* throw an orange back. The Gilles get testy. (And, they are carrying bundles of straw with which the could, if they wanted to channel "Black Pete" from St. Nicholas' Day, beat a person with.)

The Gilles I talked to (see picture above) told me that he'd been doing this for 40 years. He was going to do it for 10 more years so he could "retire" after 50 years and get the chance to participate as a Gilles in Carnaval with his son and grandson. The tradition is passed down on the male side of families. As for the traditions: they stomp their wooden shoes to "break winter." They wave the straw and ring the bells to tell winter to "go home" and to let the new and warm spring come in. And then the drums began to sound and he was off....

The parade lasts a long while and lots and lots of oranges are thrown and handed out. Belgians come with bags and fill them to the brim! I got a bunch myself, both on the fly and also handed to me. At one point I must have zoned out -- it's all a little overwhelming and the travel to Binche (as I'll explain in a moment) was difficult -- and was just staring at the whole thing when I realized that a young Gilles, maybe 8 or 9, was standing in front of me with an orange, saying take it. After I took it and said "merci" he just smiled and walked off to throw the rest of his oranges. Just really sweet. (Juxtaposed with the obnoxious gentleman to my right who kept yelling at people to move so he could take pictures and gather oranges from any and every Gilles he could nab.)

The festival goes on into the night with fireworks, but I and my Iranian friend (more on that in a second) had to leave around 6pm because of train issues....

So, getting there. Sadly, on Monday, there was a terrible train accident just outside of Brussels that has killed at least 18 and injured around 90 people. Train service has been really messed up all over Belgium and in France, the Netherlands, and even in Germany and England. Brussels is a major transportation hub. So, I knew today would be a little difficult.....

I got to Midi Station and got my ticket. Didn't see the train I needed posted so I asked and was told to take a train headed to the town of Charleroi and change trains in a town called Luttre. Okay, can do.

Well, I get to Luttre with a whole bunch of other people bound for Binche, including a very nice Iranian woman who speaks only Farsi and a little bit of English. At Luttre we all depart and wait. Then we're told, to get back on the Charleroi train, but not really told why. Just that we *should.* So I get on the train and happen across this Iranian woman. We'll call her MN who is having a hell of a time asking people what's going on. I manage to explain what the deal is and we end up sitting together and embark on a travel journey to Binche.

Once we get to Charleroi -- an old coal mining and metalworks town that is not on the upswing -- we are told that there are no trains -- none at all -- going to Binche or any town connecting to Binche. We have to take a bus. Fine. So MN and I and people dressed in face paint and balloon animal hats head toward the info booth for buses where they have....one person working. Yes, this is Europe. Yes this is the Latin part of Belgium. In the small info booth we hear English, French, Dutch, Farsi, Italian, Spanish, and many other languages and finally get our tram and bus ticket.

We board Tram 89 and head for the destination Andalouse. MN and I sit down and are facing this nice older couple. Hearing me speak English, the husband starts to give us the skinny on the tram ride. "It's going to take a half hour on the tram. Then we get on the bus. But all of this is worth one hour in Binche." It's obvious he and his wife have done this trip before. Now MN is zoned out, so I keep going with the conversation, especially since the husband was very proud to tell me that he learned his English 60 years ago in Lancashire and Birmingham, England. I decided to not tell him that I'm actually an American. (I'm often mistaken as being from England since I speak English and they associate English with England. I'm also told -- a lot, actually -- that I don't "look American" i.e. I'm not, um, overweight and I don't wear "American-style" clothes. Whatever that means....)

So, we take our 30 minute tram ride through the coal mountains -- literally -- of Charleroi and get off our tram and head for the bus. This ride is the least eventful of the trip and we make it to the outskirts of the center of Binche, are told "last stop" and head out, walking towards the festivity in the center of town.

The trip back was less eventful, since we now knew what we were doing, but still tiring. I was very glad ot have MN to talk to and wander around with. Between the two of us we managed to navigate the insane system the Belgian mass transit system had in this area of the country to get us to our destination.

It was also just interesting to meet someone from Iran. I know a couple of other people from Iran, but to run into someone from there in Belgium!? That's not something I wasn't expecting.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and one that I'll remember for ever. It was worth the crazy transportation problems. Of course, I wish I could have shared with with friends or family from back home, but they'll just have to deal with a slideshow and me talking "about the time I was in Binche for Carnaval."