Carnival Time in Limoux

    Friends from Canada and elsewhere in France have been staying with us recently. Good reasons to head over the hills past the vines that make all that lovely blanquette and into Limoux. There, this time of the year, every weekend is carnival weekend. 

     Some weeks are better than others. A recent Saturday was a standout with costumed revelers from all over Europe. Each group enters the square, performs their particular ritual or dance, then winds into the back streets, back into the square and into the different cafes. 

   Kids get into the act too. Little girls dress up in fairy and princess costumes--usually pink. Boys don masks, like this petit garcon riding the merry-go-round.

    This is an old, old festival. The spookiest group were these men dressed in sheepskins. The man wearing the two sheep made them "kiss" occasionally. Kernels of corn were thrown. Bunches of wild greens hung from some of the costumes. Can you spell "ancient fertility rite"?

Carnival Time in Limoux

Held every weekend from mid-January to the end of March, the Carnaval de Limoux is said to be the longest-running carnival in the world. Possibly originating in a pagan winter festival, its language is Occitan and its traditions are embedded in the heritage of this Languedoc town.

We drove there Sunday morning, arriving shortly before the first of the three sessions held each day. Brass instruments signalled the arrival of the first group, its costumes owing plenty to Disney (the event may be centuries old but it's always evolving). Mickey Mouse, the seven vertically challenged people.  Cruella De-Ville, they were all there. But innocent though Disney characters may look on film, they become definitely sinister as masked characters, the still faces concealing all, including whether it's a man or a woman--and women have only been allowed to take part since the early 1970s. Even small children have a creepy look to them 

Flinging confetti until the place is ankle-deep, performing the traditional swaying Fècos dance, and interacting with the crowd, each group goes around the main square under the arcades visiting most of the cafés for a restorative drink. We were well into our pizzas and vin rouge by the time the pink-and-black bande shown at the top of this post came around. Events become more traditional on the final night when the Carnival King is burned at the stake.