It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. After living here for the past 10 years, I can tell you all about it! Nicolas de Baye wrote in his journal in 1411: "Monday, the 22nd of February, the royal household, in order to observe the Lenten feast, which is tomorrow, will be rising before dawn ". The hostel has a friendly atmosphere where you can meet like-minded travellers. The year before there was no Halloween celebration. Between 1952-1997 there was no Carnival in Paris, and even now most Parisians probably don’t know that there is a carnival in Paris in March. These all are meant to celebrate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) before Lent starts. There are several balls held across the city and bands playing in several locations throughout those months. During the Spanish Civil War, Falangists were known to shave the heads of women from Republican families, too. Denunciation and humiliation of a French Nazi collaborator, Paris 1944. Get imaginative and find the perfect costume and slip into the “basket” of fruits and vegetables! Poetic and burlesque floats, parades and dancers, residents of the neighbourhood… The festival is a real show in which everyone can be an actor. Centuries later, the practice was revived when French troops occupied the Rhineland. You can see why I, Super Maman, was unprepared for this. The Fête des fous, or Feast of the Fools, is the medieval celebration that usually tool place on either the 26th, 27th, or 28th of December.It is the ancestor of the current Carnivals across France. The Carnival of Sélestat. Two female French collaborators, Chartres, France, 1944. It is more geared towards adults, where children can participate as well. Read more about the carnival of Mulhouse on my French blog! The most famous Mardi Gras carnival for North Americans is the Mardi Gras of New Orleans, which still keeps the French name given its past heritage. It also claims to be the 2nd biggest carnival in France, after Nice. People in France generally eat les beignets which are basically donuts, and schools and towns usually organize parades. Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano threats: what do they mean for travellers? The HI blog is your resource for the real hostel experience. Wikipedia says that there are two main carnivals in France: Nice and Paris. About 80% of the little girls I saw were princesses. The Paris Carnival is one of the major carnivals in France and one of the most famous carnivals in the world. The mask walk, processions and floats are all a huge part of the fun. After the war, head shaving quickly became a cultural ritual in liberated France, and one which Beevor says "represented a form of expiation for the frustrations and sense of impotence among males humiliated by their country's occupation.".