Esta página ainda não foi traduzida para português; mostra-se o texto original em inglês.
Carnival of Binche
Carnaval de Binche
Na Lista do Património Cultural Imaterial da Humanidade da UNESCO
Foto: Henri Picot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
For the three days before Lent, the small Walloon town of Binche belongs to its Gilles — up to a thousand men in wax masks and wooden clogs who dance from dawn to drive away evil spirits and, crowned with ostrich plumes, throw oranges to the crowd.
The Gilles
Binche lies south of Brussels in the province of Hainaut. Each year, during the three days before Lent, carnival takes over its historic centre and draws crowds of visitors; it is the best known of several carnivals held at the same time across Wallonia. Its first written records date from 1394, and UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003.
At its heart are the Gilles, performers who first appear in written sources in 1795 as masked characters in revolt, at a time when masks had been forbidden under the Napoleonic regime. Up to a thousand of them take part, customarily men, aged from three to sixty, and being a Gille is an honour local men aspire to. They wear costumes in red, black and yellow, wax masks and wooden clogs.
Dawn, feathers and oranges
On Shrove Tuesday the Gilles gather in the centre of Binche from dawn, dancing to drums and warding off evil spirits with bundles of sticks. Later in the day they put on tall hats of ostrich feathers and march through the town with baskets of oranges, which they throw to — and sometimes at — the crowd. The oranges are considered lucky, as a gift from the Gilles. On the Sunday before, many of Binche’s inhabitants spend the whole day in costume.
Quando acontece
The carnival’s main days are the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, in February or early March; preparations and street performances begin up to seven weeks earlier. The Gilles appear above all on Shrove Tuesday.
- 7 – 9 de fevereiro de 2027Calculada
- 27 – 29 de fevereiro de 2028Calculada
- 11 – 13 de fevereiro de 2029Calculada
- 3 – 5 de março de 2030Calculada
Visitar com respeito
Bom saber
- An orange from a Gille is a gift and brings good luck — never throw it back, which is considered an insult.
Segurança
- Oranges fly hard and fast on Shrove Tuesday; some residents seal their windows. Protect your camera and watch out.
- Pickpocketing is common in crowded places in Belgium. Keep valuables secure.
Fontes
Esta entrada foi escrita a partir das fontes seguintes.
- Carnival of BincheUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
- Carnival of BincheWikipedia · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
- Belgium travel advice: safety and securityUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
Festas relacionadas
Ducasse de Mons (Doudou)
On Trinity Sunday, Mons carries the shrine of its patron saint through town on a golden chariot that the crowd must push up a steep cobbled slope in one go — and then, on the Grand-Place, St George fights the dragon in the frantic half-hour combat called the Lumeçon.
22 – 23 de maio de 2027Calculada
Carnival of Venice
Carnevale di Venezia
For two and a half weeks before Lent, Venice returns to the masks and costumes that made its carnival famous across Europe — banned for almost two centuries, revived in 1979, and now drawing millions of visitors to the city’s squares and canals.
23 de janeiro – 9 de fevereiro de 2027Anunciada oficialmente
Patras Carnival
Πατρινό Καρναβάλι
Greece’s largest carnival opens on St Anthony’s Day and builds for weeks — balls, a city-wide treasure hunt, a night parade — to a Sunday procession of satirical floats and tens of thousands of costumed revellers, ending with the burning of the Carnival King in the harbour.
17 de janeiro de 2027Calculada