Mardi Gras Origins

In celebration of Mardi Gras eve, I thought I would share one of my favorite and most interesting cultural experiences of my time living in Europe.

THE CARNAVAL DE BINCHE

One of the most fascinating European experiences I have had is attending the Carnaval de Binche in February of 2002. Have you ever wondered where Mardi Gras began? Well, though it can't be confirmed, it is very possible that it began (or at least developed into a major celebration) in the small Belgian town of Binche, between Mons and Charleroi. Even if it didn't start there, you won't find many places where the people are prouder of their carnaval traditions. What Binche does is copied by carnavals throughout Europe.

Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday" or "Plentiful Tuesday") is the final day of a 3-day, very structured celebration. Each day from Sunday through Tuesday, the people in Binche follow traditions that have lasted for at least 450 years. I only attended the Tuesday celebration, which is the climax and certainly the most interesting part of the carnaval.

As I arrived in the morning, the town was already filling with people. The Grand Place (town center) would become the terminal point of the great cortege (parade) later in the afternoon. Just beyond the Grand Place is a museum honoring the traditions of the Binche carnaval and a statue of a "gille," the central figure of the day.

Even before the parade got going, people were getting into the spirit of the day. I have never seen so many cans of silly string, spray snow, and confetti in my entire life. Just standing there minding my own business, I was sprayed several times with various party substances. Walking along the parade route, I saw that all the windows of the buildings had barricades in front of them (this to protect them from flying projectiles during the parade - see below).

About 3:30 p.m., the parade began. The basic element of the parade is a special orange that is grown in southern France and in Spain. Literally hundreds of thousands of these oranges were shipped into town a week ahead for this parade. Each parade participant would walk down the parade route with a container full of oranges and throw them to the crowd. According to tradition (as told by the Binchois lady who stood next to me during the parade), the oranges are representative of gold coins that were thrown to onlookers during the original parade in 1549, thrown by Marie of Hungary in order to impress her brother. I guess coins got expensive, so they just throw oranges now.

The key thing to remember while watching the parade is, don't look down. I did once, and was pelted in the head by an orange. By the end of the parade, even though I spent most of my time videotaping and taking pictures, I walked away with a couple dozen oranges. The people next to me walked off with at least a bushel of oranges (no exaggeration!). Multiply that by thousands of people along the parade route, and you get an idea of how many oranges were being thrown. The entire place smelled like citrus by the end of the parade.

The parade begins with groups of children, each group dressed in beautiful matching outfits. I was told that each of the outfits is hand-made by the mothers and wives of the parade participants, so the amount of work that goes into this is amazing.

After the children's section of the parade comes the Gilles. The origin of the gille character goes back to 1549, the first parade, when townsfolk dressed up like the "newly-discovered" South American Incas. Over the years, the outfit of the gille developed into what is now a very-specific and meticulously-followed costume (which often includes beautiful headpieces made of ostrich feathers).

The Gilles come in groups according to their associations. As they march (or dance?) slowly down the parade route, each group is followed by a small band generally consisting of a clarinet, several brass instruments, and a few drums. The bands play fun, lively tunes as the gilles throw oranges to the crowds. To be a gille, one must qualify according to some strict guidelines. First, as per the rules of tradition, no women may be gilles. Second, the gille must be Belgian and must be from Binche (exactly what it means to be "from Binche" is laid out in very specific guidelines). Third, once a person has qualified as a gille, he must not do anything that would be disreputable or dishonoring to his position, nor may he march in any other town's carnaval parade. Finally, he may not wear the gille costume except when functioning in his official role in the carnaval.

The age limit for being a gille is apparently about 3 years old on up. In some groups, you can see a young child, his father, and grandfather all participating as gilles, proudly carrying on the tradition of the town. According to the Binchois people, any other carnaval parade you see is only a cheap imitation of their own. And, having seen a couple others, I would concur that no other town I have seen takes such care and pride in the carnaval tradition. If you ever happen to be in Belgium on Mardi Gras day, you would have an unforgettable experience to visit Binche and watch their parade of gilles!