Carnival!

Jerry and Sam

Shannon and Sam

Elaborate!

Drum corp of middle-aged ladies.  They were pretty good!

The Dutch know how to party!  Carnival began last Friday evening and didn't get over until last night.  It has been four and a half days of costumes, music, parades, food, and (for most participants) drink.  The legal age of consumption for the duration of the festivities was 16.  My favorite part was checking out the people and their costumes.  I have never seen so many elaborate costumes on so many people of all different ages.  Some people were obviously dressed as something, but the overall theme seemed to be to dress as loudly and outrageously as possible with as many feathers and sequins as could be attached to the body.  And each one was so unique that it was obvious that most people, to various extents, make their own costumes!  No cheap flimsy stuff from Wal-mart!  There were impromptu parades that blocked whole streets anytime a group of people decided to go anywhere.  And the party went all day and all night.  We have had groups swaying and singing there way up our street at all hours of the day and night.  It was some intense celebration, though I was amazed that it took four days to get it all out of their systems.  Today there are city clean-up crews out trying to get all the shards of glass out of the cobbles and sweep up the confetti.  For those of you who don't know (I didn't before now), Carnival is a time to get all your pent up sins out so that you can get ready for Lent and therefore be at your holiest for Easter.  It's a bit of a strange concept to me, and I am sure that to the general populace there is little religious tradition left in their motivation for celebration, just like all the other Catholic holidays that are now just cultural traditions.  But it was fun anyway!