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The Eye
contact@cataloniatoday.cat - 9 February 2020 2.00 h

Blanes, 2019

Photo: oriol duran

Make way for the Carnival King!

- contact@cataloniatoday.cat

Feb­ru­ary in Cat­alo­nia means Car­ni­val time, when King Carnestoltes (the Car­ni­val King) takes over the whole of the coun­try and every­one is free to let their hair down in par­ties, pa­rades, and fancy dress: every­thing is al­lowed! Car­ni­val tra­di­tion­ally be­gins on a Thurs­day (Fat Thurs­day) and ends on the fol­low­ing Wednes­day (Ash Wednes­day), with the Bur­ial of the Sar­dine cer­e­mony rep­re­sent­ing the start of ab­sti­nence and fast­ing for the Chris­t­ian tra­di­tion of Lent.

While pa­rades are held every­where in the coun­try, from Platja d’Aro to the Pyre­nees and Sol­sona, the places that his­tor­i­cally stand out for their ver­sions of the tra­di­tion are Sit­ges, which is vis­ited by hun­dreds of thou­sands, and Vi­lanova i la Geltrú, the only car­ni­val to have en­dured dur­ing the Franco regime, with its tra­di­tional candy fight as a high­light. How­ever, wher­ever you may be, make sure to try some of the de­li­cious tra­di­tional Car­ni­val dishes: the coca de llar­dons (flat­bread with pancetta) or bo­ti­farra d’ou (pork sausage with egg). Enjoy your Car­ni­val!

the eye

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