Lesser Quarter Carnival – parade with luxurious masks and traditional festivity
Lesser Quarter Carnival – “Rendezvous U Černého vola”
This year’s Lesser Quarter and Castle district carnival took place on Saturday, 10 February 2018. The lively celebration started in front of the U Černého vola inn in Loretánská Street. The parade route made sure to pass by pubs and restaurants not only in Nerudova and Thunovská Streets, the square at Malostranské náměstí and in Mostecká Streeet, which more or less served to take breaks, refreshments and merriment. At Kampa Park, where the procession ended, a proper luxurious carnival party took place.
A colourful whirl of masks and out of place gorillas
The various masks on display were full of creativity and the desire to impress. Carnival is becoming an increasingly colourful event. There were traditional motifs associated with the peasant lifestyle, such as luxurious traditional costumes or agricultural products, as well as iconic figures like the waster spirit, old hag, bride, devil, straw figures and musicians to add to the proper atmosphere. We were most surprised by the gorilla couple.
Tradition with rules
Ordinary people used to enjoy carnival by indulging in dances, pig feasts and wedding with rivers of brandy. However, the culmination is the last Thursday of this period, known as “Fat Thursday”, associated with a proper pig butchering and incredible feast. The last three days of carnival Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are associated with masked parades, scenic sketches and often never-ending dancing.
Interesting carnival facts and the typical luxurious horse or bear
The period starts after the Three Kings feast, meaning on January 7. Other Czech names for carnival include fašank, fašinek or ostatky. These terms for the three-day holiday are more common in the Moravian region of the country. And if you think carnival is just a Czech affair, you are wrong. It is celebrated similarly in other Slavic countries. In Russia, the holiday is called “maslenica” and features some similar characters as the Czech carnival, for instance the horse or bear.
