In the weeks before Easter, Carnival celebrations are important events in many countries, but each has a beat of its own. While New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and the celebrations of the Caribbean are familiar to many, some of Europe’s most colorful celebrations aren’t.
So for those of us with a taste for color and extravaganza, The Guardian (UK) has collected ten of what it calls the “best alternative carnivals,” including the one above from Basel, Switzerland.
Among them, a 400-year-old tradition in Dunkirk in western France which honors fishermen and ends with people being pelted with 450 kg of herring; an orange-throwing battle in Ivrea, Italy, which commemorates a local battle against Napoleon’s invading troops, and Cadiz, Spain’s celebration, with wandering crowds of musicians—and the ceremonial burial of a sardine.
And there are more, some featuring fire, some music, and some just silliness. To see more, and the accompanying pictures from The Guardian, click HERE
