Orange Attack! (Carnaval at Binche)

Last week I said that we were going to a special Carnaval celebration in a small town called Binche, well not only did we go, but we came back with our bags, pockets and purses full of oranges! And not just any oranges- but oranges sanguine- more on that later.

The Erasmus commission at Saint-Louis, our University, organized the adventure for us, and a good twenty or so people showed up Tuesday morning. After solidly blockading the sidewalk in front of FUSL for a few minutes we all marched to Gare du Nord to take the train to Binche. It was only an hour and fifteen minute ride, but this train was packed. We literally walked down then entire train just to find seats, and luckily we got some. The people getting on at the subsequent stops were not so lucky, every seat was taken and people were standing in the aisles. Signs of carnival started to appear- a little girl dressed up as a princess, teenagers with some crazy-colored wigs, but nothing too outrageous.

While it started out as a beautiful day in Brussels, Binche was quite a bit colder, as we discovered by the somewhat cold wind and cloudy skies that greeted us. But that definitely didn't stop the people of Binche from throwing their party- even outside the train station, the cracks in between the cobblestones were filled with brightly colored confetti. Right off the bat one girl in our group was approached by an older man and given a sprig of yellow mimosa flowers- a Carnaval tradition in Binche. He also proudly declared his love for her, but I don't think that's part of the tradition... As we walked down the street, gradually getting closer to the city center, more sign of the festivities appear. Two girls on a balcony playfully dumping confetti on people passing by, more kids in costumes, stalls selling wacky additions to costumes such as hats, wigs and feather boas in ever possible color. And then we heard it- the sound of a drum. A snare drum, beating out a loud marching rhythm, its bearer hidden behind the Gilles. Here was tradition Binche: Gilles are men or boys dressed up in the tradition costume, padded with straw, dressed with lace and bells and wearing very distinctive white caps with a strip of fabric going under the chin and tying on top of the head. It kinda reminded me of a baby bonnet. They all marched in time, holding a  stave-like bundle of sticks, moving it to the beat.

The first of many to come in fact. Some Gilles wore different costumes, but that was only true of the youngest boys, all the teenagers through older grandpas wore the same red, orange and tan outfit:

We made our way down to the square, encountering many more Gilles marching around and lots of open pubs and bars where people were already having a drink (it was only around 1:20pm by this time mind you). Finally we arrived at the main square- shops all around and metal crowd-fences lining the roads. We had some time to walk around and grab some food if we wanted before the parade started at 3pm. Only it was a little over an hour late, and we were exceedingly cold by then. Not matter, the oranges were coming!

Police on horseback led the parade, impressive in their straight, solid line, followed by a troop of policemen on foot and medical guys. And then the Gilles! Some in small groups of ten, others with thirty or forty guys. Now, however, instead of a bundle of sticks, they carried wicker baskets, all filled with sanguine oranges. Sanguine oranges, or blood oranges, are small and rather hard until you get past the skin which is a tie-dye combination of oranges and red. Note that I said they are pretty hard. Because, the Gilles not only carry the oranges, they launch them into the crowd. Now some are just gently tossed, some lobbed up high, and some are thrown like they used a grenade launcher. I would know. Yes, I may have gotten hit in the head with an orange. The general goal however, is not to get hit, but to catch them! I ended up catching about four or so, and was pretty proud. There was this one tall American guy in the crowd though that literally caught at least 25 oranges- lightning reflexes much?

Me in Binche! With confetti everywhere- I found some in my pockets the next day

Kid gilles, they would have different costumes

Oranges I caught! You start getting really into it to.. waving your hand around in an attempt to get the Gilles to throw you an orange

There were quite a lot of tourists there in addition to the locals, but it's also a UNESCO World Heritage event, so I guess that's to be expected! The parade went on for  over an hour, with hundreds of Gilles and thousands of oranges flying through the air. Some of the groups of Gilles had these massive hats that kinds of looked like giant feathery mushrooms, and were apparently really heavy (15 kilos! 30 pounds). Dare you to try wearing that since 6am in the morning.

Giant mushroom hats? Why not?

After the parade was stretching on and we got tired of dodging oranges, we made our way to the house of a professor from Saint-Louis who had invited us over for champagne and a brief rest. He is an economics professor at FUSL, and was also one of the Gilles! It was incredibly kind of him to have all twenty of us in his house, they were really hospitable and not only gave us each a glass of champagne, but fed us snacks of various tarts and half sandwiches. While some of the Erasmus students randomly disappeared, we stayed for over an hour, resting with the Gilles, and talking in French. I had a brief conversation with the professor, and it turns out he's not only been to Maryland, but he knows the city of Laurel! Small world eh? Several of the FUSL students know McDaniel as well since friends of theirs have gone on exchange there.

The baskets they hold the oranges in

The day wasn't over yet for the Gilles, and it was time to go march around the city some more. We followed the professor and his friends for a bit becoming their entourage, and discovered that while we were inside, the city had suddenly become even more of one massive party. The streets and squares were packed with people, people of all ages from infants on their parents shoulders, to teens drinking beer and adults surround the groups of Gilles around the city clapping and stomping together. Generally getting down. Bars were overflowing onto the streets, kids were dressed as animals, Zorro, and pirates. Everyone was wearing the mimosa flowers and had some kind of crazy costume item. Binche was literally one giant party in the streets, everyone drinking, dancing and drummers and Gilles marching everywhere. I've never seen anything like it.

Street Party!

We ventured through the streets, winding around the crowds and taking a thankfully less-crowded train home. Remember all those oranges we got? We made orange juice. Bright red orange juice. Definitely a unique Carnaval!

Inside of a sanguine orange- some were even redder than this

Red Orange Juice! It was delicious