Home » Europe » Belgium » Carnival: Dirty Jenny in Aalst! (Carnaval: Voil Jeannetten En Aalst!)

Carnival: Dirty Jenny in Aalst! (Carnaval: Voil Jeannetten En Aalst!)

by C Jordan on 01/03/09 at 10:39 am

All the world loves a party and what better way to party is there than a carnival. Especially if you are a cross dresser living in Belgium and can take to the streets as Voil Jeannetten or Dirty Jenny. This well-kept secret is a brilliant example of a spirit that the Belgians keep well hidden. Introverts should strictly stay away!

Like many countries around the world, the Annual carnival held in Aalst in Belgium celebrates a mixture of traditional and Christian values. It is held at a time of year that bids farewell to the cold dismal days of winter and welcomes the onset of spring. It takes place over three days finishing on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent, traditionally the start of forty days fasting before Easter Sunday, celebrated by Christians as the resurrection of Christ. (Carnival is taken from the Latin “carne” meaning meat; “lent” means little or no food)

Day one. Aalst (or Oilsjt), situated 19 miles north-west of the capital Brussels, starts the carnival on Sunday with a procession, “The Parade of the Giants”. This includes Aalst’s own giant, Ross Balatum. Ross Balatum is a giant horse from French and Flemish mythology, which is always given pride of place in the procession and bearing the town’s coat of arms

Image credit Erik De Troyer (The coat of arms of Aalst is seen below the head)

This is an opportunity for the participants to give their interpretation of the last twelve months’ world and local events, with both costumes and giant floats. There are oversized characters from the world stage that outsiders will recognize, and comments on local issues, usually politics, that the visitor will not understand. The emphasis of the day, however, is definitely on slapstick comedy.

Image credit Erik De Troyer

Image by bram_souffreau via Flickr

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Tags: Aalst, Aalst Carnival, Belgium, carnival, Celebration, cross dressing, dirty jeannette, dirty jenny, fancy dress, Festival, Flemish, gilles d'aalst, grote markt, onion throwing, parade, ross bayard, schepenhaus, secret, transvestite, voil jeannetten

23 Comments

AC Hamilton III

Mar 1st, 2009

Not much into the cross-dressing..Lol!, but this was a fun, interesting and educational piece.easy to read.

rutherfranc

Mar 1st, 2009

looks like a very colorful and fun celebration! glad to know about this one.. thanks for sharing!

Betty Carew

Mar 1st, 2009

Wow C what a collection it looks like so much fun. great article very informative.

Louie Jerome

Mar 1st, 2009

Great article Very informative and colourful.

numismatic

Mar 1st, 2009

Nice Article.

M A Bhanpurwala

Mar 1st, 2009

very informative article and fab pic

Blue Buttefly

Mar 1st, 2009

Very informative and colorful!

Fegger

Mar 1st, 2009

Absolutely amazed at the detail of the costume and pagentry..wow–cool stuff, Chris–thanks for doing the homework for us!

Daisy Peasblossom

Mar 1st, 2009

Breath taking article! I felt as if I were there! This is armchair travel at its best. Thank you very much for you hard work and for arranging viewing of these beautiful photographs. Incredible!

Jo Oliver

Mar 1st, 2009

Looks fun and odd. Great pics and info

Patrick Bernauw

Mar 1st, 2009

Hey Chris… My hometown on Triond!… Suddenly, it’s all looking very exotic to me… Great article, great pictures too… and thanks for the credit! Of course I can digg this!

Clay Hurtubise

Mar 1st, 2009

I’d like to know how you got my Mom’s & Dad’s pictures!
And no giant Frits?
Thanks,
Clay

Ruby Hawk

Mar 1st, 2009

I want to go to the next carnival.That looks like so much fun.

Unofre Pili

Mar 2nd, 2009

That’s colorful and frolicsome. Thanks for sharing.

thestickman

Mar 2nd, 2009

I don’t even know what to say here…

:->

-thestickman

CutestPrincess

Mar 2nd, 2009

eww… they looks so scary…

Lauren Axelrod

Mar 2nd, 2009

Wow C. I am overwhelmed with this one.

PR Mace

Mar 5th, 2009

looks like they are having fun. Great article.

L Dalton

Mar 7th, 2009

This was the most enjoyable article I’ve read in awhile. My husband is from Mobile,AL, where the ‘Mardi Gras’ was originated. This is a celebration much like the one you described. You article is well written and very informative; enjoyed the pics tremendously!