Last week Carnival, most widely recognized in the United States by the celebrations in Brazil or Mardi Gras in New Orleans, was celebrated here in Spain. Carnival is a celebration that begins the week before Lent (the Catholic forty-day fast leading to Easter). It is a centuries old tradition where people dress up in costumes, eat plenty of meat and enjoy themselves before Ash Wednesday in which they begin their fast. Each country, and even different cities, celebrate Carnival in their own distinct way, with typical foods, costumes, and celebrations. Here in Galicia Carnival is also known as "Entroido" or "Antroido" which is derived from Latin and means "entrance" or "beginning" of springtime. [If you want to read more about Carnival and how it is celebrated elsewhere you can start with this link to the
wikipedia site]
The students of IES Monte Castelo wrote a little bit to describe how they celebrated Carnival.
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| A poster advertising Carnival in Lugo |
"Hey, we're going to tell you about our Carnival here in Burela (Galicia). Last week Carnival was celebrated in Burela. During that week people came to the Secondary School with different costumes, you can see vagabonds, football players, babies, etc. Also, in some supermarkets the people who work there wear costumes too. Last Friday, Primary School children wore costumes while they ate traditional desserts of Galicia.
Tuesday, the 7th, a parade was celebrated. There were groups of people with the same costumes, there were couples and individuals with costumes too." -Sol and Lashmy
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| A parade with very intricate costumes |
"This year Burela's Carnival was celebrated on the 8th of March. During Carnival we make typical foods, like 'filloas' (a type of pancake) and 'orejas' (a typical sweet). Young people go door to door asking for some money, like Halloween in the USA, with masks. In the afternoon, there's a parade. Everyone wearing costumes parades together in the streets. It's very funny." -Xavier and Ivan
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| Synchronized swimmers in the parade |
"My Carnival was fantastic! It was on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th of March (this year). Friday, in the morning, my mum made 'filloas' and my father helped my mum cook the chocolate. I was chatting with my friends to meet up. My friends and I dressed up in pajamas.
Saturday, my family came and they ate at my house. My friends and I ate pizza at my friend's house. We went out to 'Sala 4'. Sunday, we dressed up as mimes and hippies. Monday, we went to see the 'cabalgata' and at night we went out." - Leticia
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| Cabalgata means Procession |
"This year Carnival took place on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th of March. People usually dress up every night and they go to parties with their friends. There are some typical foods of this festival like 'filloas' (they are like crepes) or 'rosquillas' (a dessert like donuts).
In our town the principal day of the festival is Tuesday. All people wear different costumes in groups and they form a parade. The parades go for some streets of the town. There is music too. When the parades finish there are some prizes for the best costumes." -Amara and Silvia
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| Filloas are similar to crepes and can have many different toppings or fillings |
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| Rosquillas are kind of like donuts but not soft and squishy |
"The typical food in Spain [during Carnival] is 'cocido' and the typical desserts are: 'orejas, buñuelos, filloas, roscas'. Tuesday was the parade, but in Burela it wasn't very big, then a judge gives prizes to the best costumes. This is Burela's Carnival." -Diego
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| Orejas (Spanish) or Orellas (Galician) means ears |
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| Buñuelos |
"The typical desserts during Carnival are 'orejas', 'filloas', 'buñuelos' and 'rosquillas'. The typical food is 'cocido', we eat pig head, pig ears and 'morro' (pig nose)." -Sabela and Bea
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| Mmmm Cocido which is Pig |
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| Morro = Snout |
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| Oreja = Ear |
Here is some of the students on one of the days they dressed up for school
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| Bunny Rocks Stars? What ever they are it looks like fun! |
