Did you like going to carnivals as a child? Well, in Strumica you don’t have to be a child to do that. At the beginning of March, we had a chance to witness the 35th Jubilee Strumica Carnival in all its glory. As the presenter mentioned at the beginning of his speech, the Strumica carnival is a symbol of history and culture. It is for the young and the old and knows no religion, political party or nationality. In other words, Strumica Carnival is for everyone without exception. So how did it all begin?

Even though this year marked only the 35th anniversary of Strumica carnival, its history begins centuries ago in pagan tradition that was later adopted by Christians. First written mention of carnival dates back to 1670. According to the Christian tradition, the carnival was celebrated on Tuesday after Clean Monday. Afterwards, masked groups of men would go to the houses of their betrotheds where the woman would have to recognize her fiancé among the masked men.

In the 70’s residents of Strumica attempted to make the carnival an official town event, but after a few successful years, the official event was suspended. Despite the halt of the event, citizens gathered for the carnival spontaneously and celebrated anyway.

Official Strumica carnival was resumed in 1991, marking the beginning of a new tradition lasting to the current days. Now, participants show the struggles between opposites like good and evil or realism and sarcasm. Thanks to the success of the event, the carnival became a member Federation of European Carnival Cities in 1994 and over the years has established cooperation and exchange groups with several countries. Today, it is one of the most popular carnivals and definitely an event you shouldn’t miss when visiting Macedonia.

The modern Strumica carnival follows a certain procedure lasting a whole week. The carnival began on Wednesday with the ceremonial opening where the keys to the city were handed over to the carnivalists. Afterward, an exhibition of the renewed 35th annual Strumica carnival and carnival masks took place. The whole carnival was celebrated until next Wednesday. While on Thursday there were masked concerts and the results of the literary competition with a carnival theme were announced, on Friday a masquerade ball to crown the carnival prince and princess was organized. Finally, on Saturday, the main carnival day arrived, which we couldn’t miss. Over 30 groups showed off their creativity and craftsmanship on that day in the parade through the main street ending in the main square. There they presented their extraordinary masks and costumes with a small dance to the carnival royalty and the public, who could later vote for their favourite costume online. If you get hungry in the meantime or need a last-minute costume don’t worry. All over the main square you could get food, cotton candy or masks and carnival items. After celebrating the whole evening on Saturday, the kid’s carnival takes place on Sunday morning. This is followed by Clean Monday where white beans are traditionally cooked and results of the mask competition are announced with a caricature exhibition taking place later in the day. Tuesday is reserved for traditional carnival promenades and awarding carnival prizes. Finally, on Wednesday the key to the city is returned to the mayor and sadly the carnival is ending.

From our personal impression, the creative and skillfully made costumes were impeccable albeit a bit controversial/questionable at times including elements of different cultures. With funny or magical designs the participants were able to amaze the viewers and bring them into a carnival fantasy world. Masks were from simple to most intricate and some of the costumes stood out of the crowd with their unique look. Nevertheless, the amazing costumes had the counter-effect, that the dances couldn’t be too interesting because of the limited movement abilities. Due to that, after some time the dances got pretty long and a little bit boring, so we would propose having shorter dance periods. Some of us, being used to the Cologne Carnival, enjoyed the dances from every group a lot and it was amazing to experience the Macedonian carnival. One thing we missed, though, was more specific Strumica Carnival songs. We would love to hear more than the “Strumica carnival” anthem and get even more the flair of a special Strumica carnival. If you ask us, we would recommend going there with all our hearts. To experience the outstanding costumes, spectacular dances as well as the fun, liveliness and dynamic of Strumica.

Maike Seuffert and Dáša Holecová