EXP E R IE NCE + E XP LO R E + EN J OY + EI N D H OV EN
JA N + F E B 2 0 14 = 0 1
Dance the
Night Away!
International vs Dutch
Primary Education
Carnaval
Survival Guide
“Getting married
in the Netherlands,
the best of both worlds!”
Samantha Gonzalez-Salters from Miami, USA
Exploring
Eindhoven Automotive
WHAT'S HAPPENING
SALAAI!
LET THE PARTY BEGIN:
CARNAVAL SURVIVAL GUIDE 101
Have you ever been to a costume party before? Did you enjoy seeing everyone dressed up and
having a good time? Well, if you did you’re in for a treat, because each year the southern part of
The Netherlands transforms into a completely different world for a couple of days during Carnival
(or Carnaval in Dutch). The crazy Dutch go out of their way to dress up in extraordinary outfits and
really show off their creative skills with the amazing parade of handcrafted floats. But where do
these festivities come from? And what is the best way to enjoy this great party? Keep on reading
and you’ll find out in this Carnival Survival Guide 101!
A little bit of history:
what you need to know
Survival tip no. 1:
Blend in with the right outfit
Carnival was originally a Catholic celebration before the start
You may think: “I’ll see about this dressing up thing, I’m not
really looking forward to wearing something ridiculous”, but
of Lent, the period of 40 days leading up to Easter during
think twice, because not dressing
which time people traditionally
“I think it’s a nice tradition that
up is a no-go. You don’t have to
committed to fasting. The name
anything extreme, but you’ll
Carnival may come from the Latin
during Carnival everyone dresses up wear
stand out more if you don’t wear
Carne Vale, which means someas another person. It creates a great a costume or at least some kind
thing along the lines of ‘farewell to
of headgear. A regularly sported
meat’. Nowadays, with the excepmix of people!”
traditional outfit is the Boerenkiel, a
tion of some traditions, the event
Isis, from Spain
kind of farmer's blouse worn with
has little to do with its Catholic
a scarf, which dates back to the origins of Carnival as an event of
background and is more of an inclusive party. So whether you’re
equality.
old, young, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, black, white, green or
yellow, it doesn’t matter, everybody is welcome to join the
Many people did and still do wear a Boerenkiel during Carnival to
party! Like many other cities and villages in Brabant, Eindhoven
hide their wealth. Everyone dresses up, either as something they
takes on a nickname during Carnival. In Eindhoven’s case that
made up themselves or as a more ‘traditional’ character such as a
nickname is Lampegat, or ‘lamp hole’, which refers to its
witch, nurse, animal, policeman, cowboy or Native American (I
history as the city of light. Each year Lampegat elects a city
hear the Village People alarm bells going off in your mind right
Prince, who holds the ceremonial role of hosting the event.
now, but believe me, it goes way beyond that!). For some people, Carnival is a year-round event, as they spend the whole year
The real fanatics and Carnival society members greet one another
leading up to it preparing their own handmade costume. Carnival
with SALAAI!, a degeneration of the word ‘salute’. A more
brings out the creativity in people, but for those who may not be
common greeting is ALAAF!, which is used in other cities also.
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Writer: Anke de Bont | Photography: Damien Fournier (NBPA)
WHAT'S HAPPENING
as experienced with needle and thread, don't worry: there are also
places where you can score a great ready-made outfit. Department
store V&D stocks a special Carnival selection each year. Party
shop ‘t Snabbeltje at Sint Catharina straat 73 also offers outfits,
wigs and hats to blend in with the crowd. Temporary party shops
also pop up around town in the two months before the event, like
Uniek Carnaval at Gelderopseweg 2 or El Blanco at Bredalaan 57
and Heezerweg 270. Browse around one of these places and you’ll
surely find the perfect masquerade in which to enjoy Carnival.
Survival tip no. 2:
Learn the crazy lyrics and moves
Be prepared to hear some crazy Dutch music during Carnival. If
you don’t know any Dutch it’s well worth asking the locals what
they are singing about, because it’s fun and often makes no sense
at all, especially in English. There are songs about ‘having very
big cauliflowers’, ‘being a flower curtain’ and, more recently, ‘the
balls of the Queen’. Most lyrics are easy to sing along to, even if
you don’t really speak Dutch, since they often consist of only a few
main sentences in the refrain- well, people need to be able to sing
them after a few beers! So repeat after me: “Er staat een paard in
de gang, ja ja, een paard in de gang, oh oh een paard in de gang, bij
buurvrouw Jansen!” See, it’s that easy. It means there’s a horse in
the hallway at neighbour Jansen’s.
An important ‘dance’ you should know before you join the party
is the famous Polonaise, in which people walk in a long line with
their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them to the
rhythm of the music. Perhaps it sounds dull, but it is definitely
fun, so just tag along and enjoy!
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
Survival tip no. 3:
Energize yourself: carnaval food
Besides the costumes, crazy music and hilarious dance moves, an
other main ingredient for a great Carnival celebration is food. One
of the specialties are
“I really like the
the worstenbroodjes,
are the Brabant
Carnival atmosphere, we which
equivalent of sausage
don’t have it in my country. rolls or pigs-in-aThey are a
It’s fun to see the parade: blanket.
popular snack to line
crazy in a positive way!” your stomach before
Ivy, from Taiwan
an afternoon or evening of drinking beer
and they are also a very tasty after-party snack. Midnight snacking
after a Carnival party is common practice because drinking beer,
singing and ‘polonaising’ definitely works up an appetite! So stock
up your fridge with this regional delicacy to ensure that you have
enough energy to party non-stop through the Carnival period!
Since Carnival is a party which is celebrated at bars and cafés in
the city, it is also very common to eat out so you don’t have to go
home and miss out on any of the fun. Restaurants often adjust
their menu to the Carnival festivities. Simple, quick and filling is
the motto, and popular choices are stamppot (stew or hotchpot)
and, of course, the vette hap (fries and fried snacks).
Survival tip no. 4:
Find the best place to enjoy the party
Officially, the first day of Carnival is Sunday and the festivities
end on Tuesday, but over the years the event has extended and
the die-hards now start two days earlier. On Friday 28th of
February you can get your first taste of Carnival during ‘Drie
Uurkes Vurraf ’, Brabant dialect for ‘Three Hours Before’, at
the Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne hotel at 3 p.m. You need an
entrance ticket, which are handed out for free at the door at 11 a.m. make sure to come early, as most people spend hours in line for
a ticket.
You can also celebrate at the Market Square, where a big tent is
set up and the party is broadcasted live. This tent is open for the
whole Carnival period and is a great places to party!
On Saturday 1st of March the main event is the big parade or
‘Lampegatse Optocht’. Hundreds of people join a tour through
the city accompanied by a large, colourful parade of vehicles and
bands playing popular Carnival songs. The Parade starts at 1:11
p.m. at the Central Station. “Why at 1:11 and not just 1 p.m.?” you
may wonder. That’s because eleven is traditionally considered the
‘crazy number’ and, since Carnival is the event of craziness, most
activities start at eleven minutes past the hour. Makes perfect
Carnival sense, right?! The Prince joins the crowd at the Central
Station and from there the parade makes its way through the city
via the Vestdijk to Stadhuisplein. The Vestdijk will be transformed
into a Carnival Boulevard and The Hub Eindhoven will host a
special ‘Carnaval do Brasil’ side-event during the parade.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING
Survival tip no. 5:
Reserve some healing time
If you really want to get the full, multiple-day Carnival
experience, take into account that you may need some time to
recuperate afterwards.
Many people are not feeling their best right after partying for five
days straight, so check your calendar in advance and make sure
you don’t have any important meetings the day after Carnival!
It might be a good
idea to plan a day off
from work because
you may need the
time to heal.
On Sunday 2nd of March, at around 2 pm, a good place to soak
up the Carnival feeling is Stratumseind, where many bands, or
dweilorkesten, will participate in a Carnival music festival called
‘Dweilen met de kraan open’, literally 'mopping with the tap open'.
Dweilorkest is a term used for orchestras consisting of wind and
percussion instruments. Looking for something fun to do with
your children? Join the children’s ‘Markiezenbal’, Marquis Dance,
in the tent on the Market Square on Sunday afternoon.
“Carnival is a real
social event, everyone
talks to you, even if you
don’t know them. It can
also be very loud with all
the music, but then again
that’s part of the fun.”
A good way to spend
the day after Carnival,
officially called ‘Ash
Wednesday’, is by
Russel, from China
resting and going for
some Haringhappen,
or herring biting. Traditionally, people got (and some still do) a
cross of ash on their forehead at church. These traditions mark
the end of Carnival and officially launch the 40-day fasting period until Easter. So wrap up the crazy days, eat some herring and
take it slow!
Monday 3rd of March is also a great day to celebrate Carnival
with the kids. The Sint Trudoplein in Strijp will be turned into a
Carnival square full of children’s games, music and entertainment
to celebrate the ‘Strijps Kreiefist’. This year there will be a special
(alcohol-free) Carnival program on Wilhelminaplein for children
aged between 12 and 18, with different activities every day.
On Tuesday 4th of March there are other fun activities to enjoy,
including the traditional ‘Boerenbruiloft’ (Farmers Wedding). This
is also a parade, but more traditional. The procession consists of
horses and a carriage taking a ‘happy couple’ to be ‘unlawfully
married’, as everything is reversed during carnival, and the tour
goes via the Boschdijk to Wilhelminaplein, finally ending at the
tent on the Markt where the ‘ceremony’ takes place.
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