Goodbye to the meat. That is the translation of the Latin ‘carne vale’ from which the folk festival carnival originated. Carnival celebrants immerse themselves one last time in the festivities with all the trimmings, before the forty-day Lent begins. What about carnival traditions such as getting an ashes, fasting or eating herring?
If anyone can answer these questions, it’s Rob van de Laar, carnival connoisseur par excellence. The former chairman of the Brabant Carnival Federation examines these Catholic Carnival traditions against the contemporary light.
He himself has not yet eaten herring or obtained ashes on the day after carnival. “I eat herring enough throughout the year. I’m a real enthusiast.”
Many ash crosses are no longer placed on the foreheads of believers on the day after Carnival, Van de Laar notes. “The interest in the ashes is decreasing. Faith is sinking and the ashes are in step with that. It is only busy in the church with the carnival mass. A pastor really doesn’t see that many people on Ash Wednesday to make an ashes. That’s a lot less.”
“Who remembers the fasting drum?”
The cross of ashes is a symbol of penance. It also reminds the believer of the temporary nature of his body, describes the carnival expert. “But who still observes Lent? I come from a Roman Catholic family. In my family and among acquaintances and friends I do not know anyone who participates in Lent. Who still remembers the fast drum from the past? candy and then you were only allowed to take something out on Sunday. At the end of the day you had a stomach ache.”
Eating herring on Ash Wednesday used to mark that you did not eat meat during fasting, but fish. “In the last century eating herring was still part of the folk games. Now it is still a pleasant gathering to look back together on a successful Shrove Tuesday or carnival. This is done in many places in Brabant and Limburg.”
“You shouldn’t want to keep everything at all costs.”
Carnival traditions come and go. Van de Laar: “But they are not cast in concrete. They go along with the developments in our society. Until the Second World War, for example, it was forbidden for men to wear women’s clothes during carnival and vice versa. You were arrested for that. After the war, it was no longer discussed.
According to Van de Laar, carnival is now an inclusive party. “Developments come and go. Carnival is lagging slightly behind developments in society. You shouldn’t want to keep everything at all costs.”
