Creep in, said the witch, and see if it is properly heated, so that we can shut the bread in

 Just in case you are wondering: yes, we celebrated the great Carnival season here in Spain last week.

 It is kind of a great event in the whole country but, in this little northern corner, it is something truly special.

We have our own traditional celebrations which include four days of non-stopping party with lots of food and crazy regional costumes. 

And the reason why it is so different from the rest of the country is that we (and I am very proud of it) have Celtic roots. 

Maybe that´s what makes me get dress as a witch every year, our folklore is deeply coloured by beldam stories. 

And when I say every year I really mean it. 

As time goes by, I collected more than a dozen witch hats. Believe or not, my parents have a fitted cabinet in my room that they call The Wicked Witch of the East cupboard and I suspect that:

1. They are going to sell them all as soon as I move to the UK to recover the ridiculously huge space the hats occupy.

2. If I try to keep the hats in there it will constitute a solid evidence of my mania.

3. I will finish my days at Arkham Asylum, where I´ll be known as The Dark Witch Hat Lady or something like that.

  

Going back to the party itself and, unfortunately for us this time,  

The Great God of Rain decided to spoil the fun.

We had a wet weekend and just one day of sunlight (well, indeed I am trying to keep the positive tone because calling sunlight to that sinister bunch of clouds we had all over the week is a little otherwordly).

The Gentle One and I really did our best to mantain the festive spirit considering the circumstances.

We went out for a walk in our costumes and even tried to go and see the parade, but it became pretty much like a nightmare with all the windy, cold and wet atmosphere. After a while we had to acknowledge our defeat and, as good soldiers, we retired into the warm and charming nineteenth century club, when one can simply spend hours by drinking tea and eating chocolate cake (which of course we did).

I think I didn´t have enough of masks, but I am happy I will have the chance to repeat it next month:

Some wonderful people is organizing a victorian-inspired masquerade for March in one of the most beautiful baroque palaces of my city. So if you are planning to visit Spain this Spring, that can be definitely the opportunity to step aside from crowded beaches and doing something memorable.

The Aurum Masquerade

Tell me, do you celebrate the carnival season in your country?