Tag: Carnival

October is preparing in school for a Carnival.  We had a small list of items to purchase and the name of the store in Buitrago to purchase them at.  She really had no idea what kind of Carnival they were preparing for.  I blew off until I got an ad in the mail that had halloween-type costumes in it and they were labeled “Carnaval”.  Made me think, maybe this Carnival is bigger than a random school project.  Turns out it’s a Mardi Gras type festival in the days leading up to lent.  Parades, people dressed up, drinking, celebrating all night.  There are many cities in Spain that have large celebrations and a Mardi Gras type celebration didn’t even come to mind when October mentioned a Carnival.  I was thinking games and face painting.  She is making Egyptian Head-dresses.  Madrid does have a celebration, but from what I’ve read it’s not as extravagant as others in Southern Spain.  I guess we’ll have to go to Madrid to find out if carnival is more a Paczki eating day or a flash your boobs kind of day.

Ad with Carnaval costumes.

We celebrated Three Kings Day back on January 5th here in Buitrago.  It was an interesting festival to experience.  It was also a difficult night all around. Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) is representing the three wise men bringing gifts to Baby Jesus.  Children in Spain expect a visit from Reyes Magos on the night of January 5th where they bring the children presents and leave them in their shoes.  It is also traditional to eat a Roscon which is a doughnut shaped bread/pastry with jelly-gummy candies with a plastic toy buried inside.  They were sold at all the grocery stores.  We did not end up having one.  So onto the festival….

We gathered in Buitrago preparing for a parade.  The girls were excited.  I saw other kids with bags; which tipped me off that this may be a “candy-excessive” parade.  While they were waiting in their place on the street, I stopped into the bank ATM to get rent money out.  And the ATM ate my card.  AHH!!!  Jeff had stayed at home to get some stuff done, the girls were out on the street by themselves, the crowds were accumulating, an old man who knew me as the “American with three girls” was trying to help me by calling the bank (which was closed for the holiday) and I was freaking out that now I could not get access to my money.  I call Jeff, he comes to stand with the girls and by the time I rejoin them there is a Smurf (??) themed parade and teenagers from Jeff’s school are not tossing but whipping hard candies at him and his family.  There were approximately four floats in the parade (it’s a small town) with the last one having the Three Kings.  After the parade went by, it made it loop and headed back into the main plaza of town which was set up with three King’s chairs and a red carpet to receive the kings.  We gathered along side the red carpet while hoards of children gathered near the beginning of the red carpet.  They clearly were in the know.  The parade stopped and those on floats paraded up the red carpet to the thrones of the Three Kings.  This procession included angels, soldiers, Smurfs, SpongeBob and the Three Kings along with their court.  The court included a teenager painted with brown skin to match the King he was with.  Strange and also, not acceptable in the U.S.  The children that were lined up at the end of the red carpet were waiting to sit on the Three Kings laps.  Afterwards, the kids got hot chocolate and churros.  We ran home for a bit – the line was long!  Basically, the line was all the children in the village.  We went back just as the line was dying down.  As was my camera – so no photo’s of my own children sitting on the laps of the Three Kings.

I was in the mood for staying out among the crowd and excitement and to enjoy the night.  The girls and I went for a walk further down into town towards the castle walls.  Unfortunately, Lavender and October were fooling around running on the sidewalk and it ended badly.  Lavender got her foot wrapped up in yellow caution tape, fell off the curb onto her back, the metal barricade the caution tape was tied to then fell off the curb and onto Lavender’s body and forehead.  A stranger jumped out of their car to grab up Lavender before I got a chance to get there.  I thought for sure Lavender was going to open her mouth to scream and it’d be void of teeth.  Luckily it was not.  But it wasn’t great either – her lip was bleeding, her forehead and nose were already bruising.  I scooped Lavender up, still sobbing uncontrollably.  And had she not been concerned where her candy bag from the Three Kings had gone I’m pretty sure the strangers in the car would have called a for ambulance (although it was literally a block away).  I went home after this.  I was spent.

Her forehead and bridge of the was quite bruised.