Original and funny: Carnival experience in Belgium

In February and March, dozens of coloured and creative Carnival parades flourish over the whole of Belgium. A lot of them ended a few days ago (on Mardi Gras) and, as usual, have attracted many visitors. Why? Because each of them has its own traditions and stories, and they can provide you with a nice experience of what Belgium is in terms of fun and sincerity. Lots of them were invented centuries ago to celebrate the end of winter, ward off evil spirits and wish everyone good luck for the new harvest. Globally, Carnival is the occasion to exchange roles in society, wear disguises and do pranks to others... a great way to release pressure!


Probably the most famous Carnival in Belgium takes place in Binche (Hainaut province). It is easily recognizable from its main characters, the "Gilles", a tradition recognized by UNESCO for 10 years. Wearing fake fat bellies and ostrich feather hats, they have this very "Belgian" look from their mask, which used to be a symbol of rebellion against the Napoleonian regime. Participants are usually very proud of representing their city. The Gilles also play in brass bands and throw blood oranges to people down the street. The parade also includes a variety of other characters, usually played by local kids (Arlequin, Peasant, Pierrot...).

Gilles wearing masks or ostrich hats

Carnival in Aalst (East Flanders) is a tradition (also recognized by UNESCO) that started in the Middle Ages. Typically it involves "onion throwing" to passers-by and a "Dirty Sissies" parade... Actually, onion-sized candies have replaced onions, to the joy of children!... And the "Dirty Sissies" are not the new trendy punk band in Belgium, but a traditional parade. Because poor people couldn't afford fancy clothes, they decided to make fun of rich ladies by making men wear some ugly, broken or old clothes and accessories (fur coat, broken umbrella, etc.) often borrowed from their own wives!

Parade in Aalst and men in lady's clothes

A very "Walloon" Carnival is the Cwarmê in Malmedy (Liège province, bordering Germany). It is in this Carnival that Walloon language can be heard spoken ritually at ceremonies or by local characters, including "li Haguète", a sort of witch that plays tricks to people, represents winter and is judged at the end of Carnival. Also a variety of characters play jokes in Walloon with passers-by, like the "baker", who uses his/her giant spatula to hit people's butts!

Disguised crowd at the Carnival parade in Malmedy

A last example is the Carnival in Martelange (Luxembourg province), called "Cavalcade". This year, it was the only cross-border Carnival made in Belgium, because it partnered with the Luxembourg village of Rambrouch. Belgian people in the area feel very close to Luxembourg, also because one street is included in both countries.


Traditionally, most of these parades have a "Prince Carnival" who announces the end of Carnival, which also means the start of Spring. To symbolise the (temporary) death of winter, a giant puppet (stuffed with straw) is burned on a public square and the big fire warms up all attendees. Other examples of Carnival in Belgium are: the Laetare in Stavelot (Liège province), "Schnarnaval" in Schaerbeek (Brussels region) and Rosenmontag in Eupen (German-speaking community)... Each time a different experience!

Why place names are so confusing in Belgium

Have you ever experienced the feeling of being lost in translation with signs on the highway written in different languages? If you visit Belgium by car, it might happen a lot, because depending on where you are driving in the country, the signs can be in Dutch and French (sometimes in German as well). The problem is that cities names are also translated and can REALLY confuse foreigners! A little guide to help you cope with it...

If you happen to visit the Brussels region, you will notice that every commune and street name is bilingual Dutch-French. Due to the Flemish origin of most of the place names, a peculiar phenomenon occurs with French versions of these names. A lot of them are written with strange combinations of letters that are not part of French spelling and you often have to ask locals how to pronounce them. For example, the commune name "Schaerbeek" is pronounced in French as if it was written "Scarbéque". And... this spelling is not even the same in Dutch, "Schaarbeek"! Why then?
 
The reason of this is the fact that an Flemish dialects used to be spelled in a different way in the old times, sometimes with rules that were not really fixed, so that one sound could be written in different ways. In Modern Dutch language, these place names were progressively changed to correspond to the spelling standards, but French speakers didn't really care about the new spelling and they kept it with the older one. Yet, you will still find the same spelling in Flemish family names, but it matters less...

If you know how to pronounce Dutch, you can quickly learn the following changes occurring in the spelling and you'll know how to pronounce the names of the city in French... oh wait, take a French accent of course(!):
- ae = aa /a:/ (a long "ah")
- au = ou /ɑu/ (normally English "ow" but French speakers say "oh")
- uy = ui /œi/ (more or less "uh-ee")
- ue = uu /y:/ (long French "u")
- ey = ei /ɛi/ (English "ay")
- y or ÿ = ij /ɛi/ (normally also English "ay" but French speakers say "ee")
- gh = g /x/ (normally like the Scottish pronunciation of ch in "loch" but French speakers say "g")
- sch = sch /sx/ (in French, just say "sk") or s /s/ (in word final)
 - c, ck = k or kk /k/


So, now you can read French versions of city names in Brussels, but also in the whole of Belgium:
Coxyde (Koksijde), Welkenraedt (Welkenraad), Crainhem (Kraainem), Knocke (Knokke), Blanckenberghe (Blankenberge), Auderghem (Oudergem), Schaerbeek (Schaarbeek)...

Unfortunately, it is not always that easy to understand that a city name means another one, especially if you compare what you see on your map or GPS and what you read on the signs! For some reason, you can find city names that are super different from their translation in French or Dutch. In some places, Flemish independentists have sprayed paint on street signs to hide the French names and only have Dutch names displayed...

Here is a selection of the biggest dissimilarities between French and Dutch names of the same city: Mons - Bergen*, Braine-l'Alleud - Eigenbrakel, Braine-le-Comte - s'-Gravenbrakel, Soignies - Zinnik, Tournai - Doornik, Ixelles - Elsene, Amblève - Amel, Tirlemont - Tienen, Fourons - Voeren, Anvers - Antwerpen, Termonde - Dendermonde, Courtrai - Kortrijk, Namur - Namen, Bouillon - Boolen... Feeling dizzy, huh?

* The meaning of the city name in both languages is in fact "mountains"

As you probably know it, Belgium also has a German-speaking community, so that there are also cities with names in German. Fortunately, the German name is usually super similar to the Dutch one (add umlauts here and there and you get them). That way, some Belgian cities have distinct translations in the three national languages: Bruxelles - Brüssel - Brussel, Liège - Lüttich - Luik, Arlon - Arel - Aarlen, Louvain - Löwen - Leuven, Malines - Mecheln - Mecheln...

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