Carnival season set to start in northern Croatian coastal region
- by croatiaweek
- in Entertainment
The Halubje Bell Ringers (Photo: Grad Rijeka/TZ Viskovo)
ZAGREB, 9 Jan (Hina) – The carnival season will start in Opatija, Rijeka and some other cities in the area of Kvarner on 17 January as usual, when the Day of Anthony the Great is observed.
The Opatija authorities reported on Tuesday that the official Carnival flag and the Pust effigy for this season will be raised outside the city market on 17 January.
Rijeka and nearby towns and villages will begin this season with the sounds of the “Antonjski Rog”, that is the sounds of French horns on 17 January, announcing the beginning of the season when carnivalists take over the cities and villages.
This year, the carnival season lasts until 4 March, Shrove Tuesday, when Shrovetide culminates.
In Opatija, children can join the carnival march for kids on 16 February.
This seaside resort boasts a soapbox race of self-made vehicles that run on ball-bearings (known locally as “balinjere” – hence the name Balinjerada) instead of wheels. Balinjerada will be held in the main street on 23 February.
The pre-Lenten carnivals are a tradition maintained for centuries in the coastal parts of Croatia.
Bell ringers of Halubje, a village in the hinterland of Rijeka, are well-known for their role in traditional carnival merrymaking, and the annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant in the Kastav region of northwest Croatia is one of several Croatian cultural assets inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The three-day pageant through the villages of the Kastav region starts on Carnival Sunday and lasts until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, when the Pust effigy is burnt.
