Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring: Kurentovanje

Spring can officially begin! Six weeks before Easter different cultures, religions, and groups of people around the world celebrate Carnival/Fat Tuesday/Pust/Fasching. There are many different names and traditions associated with each region, but in the end, the goal is the same; to cleanse the soul from the dark energies winter brought and prepare a fresh start for spring. This day is seen as a right of passage; from darkness to light, from winter to summer.

The four biggest Carnival locations in the world are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Barranquilla, Colombia; Venice, Italy; and Recife, Brazil.

The derivation of the word Carnival has many theories but it's mostly believed to have come from the Latin word, carnem levare, meaning: to remove meat. It is the final festival before the beginning of Lent, time in which fasting and suppressing certain behaviors take place.

I, for one, am all about this holiday. Who doesn't love inviting in fresh new energy? And after experiencing Pust in Slovenian's Carnival capital, Ptuj, I love it even more.

With my dearly beloved Slovenian friends, we dawned our costumes and joined the locals. I was Gretti, a typical Austrian girl and joined by Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, a priest, and a devil. Safe to say we covered all of the bases.

Ptuj is the oldest city in Slovenia and since 1960, during the 10 day period of Carnival, the city transforms into a series of festivals, parades, concerts, and events to celebrate the turning from winter to spring.

We went to the concert of my favorite traditional Slovenian song, "Ti Ti Ti Moja Rozica", Modrijani. Then on Sunday joined the masses lining the streets through the center of Ptuj in the largest parade put on during the 10 days with countries from all over Europe being represented.

If you're lucky, you can be chosen from the crowd from the kurenti and they put you between them in an embrace, hop in circles with you in the middle, and spit you back out. Congratulations, you've been cleansed! I was fortunate to have this happen to me several times, so I am now feeling officially ready for the new season (still unsure about being mauled by a Chewbaca, but hey, why not go all in when trying on a new holiday in a foreign country?)

As an American, Pust is most closely related to our Halloween. The main event revolves around dressing up in costumes. In Italy, wearing different masks is the mark of their Carnival holiday, If you've ever been to Venice, one of the predominant souvenirs filling every third shop are various extravagant face masks. Brazil is based around massive parades and dancing. In America, Carnival is most known as, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

In Slovenia, the main costume and mascot of Pust is a kurent (kurenti, plural). These are monstrous fluffy characters (basically an entire clan of Chewbaka's) dressed in sheepskin, chains, and cowbells carrying a long braided whip made from hedgehog skins, called ježevke. Their main purpose is to chase away winter along with everything which is bad and to attract spring, happiness, and a good harvest. You can hear them coming from a mile away, cow bells clanging, and whips smacking pavement.