The array of beautiful princesses and queens, altogether with knights, heroes like Spiderman or Batman, Pierrots, cowboys, sheriffs, Indians, but also tigers, bunnies, talented wizards and good witches or even representatives of youth subcultures – everybody, even the adults, wanted to be somebody else that day to fulfill one’s dreams and fantasies.
On 24 February 2007, on the initiative of the Ladies Club a Fancy Dress Ball took place, which was organized to celebrate the end of this year’s carnival.
Smart, strong and beautiful…
The array of beautiful princesses and queens, altogether with knights, heroes like Spiderman or Batman, Pierrots, cowboys, sheriffs, Indians, but also tigers, bunnies, talented wizards and good witches or even representatives of youth subcultures – everybody, even the adults, wanted to be somebody else that day to fulfill one’s dreams and fantasies.
To win and to have fun…
During the ball numerous competitions were organized in order to make this Saturday afternoon more memorable. The children took part in a race in pairs wearing one bag or a ski race in two-man teams. Many children dissolved into laughter while drawing one’s face and being blindfolded at the same time. Another competition requiring blindfolding was decorating a X-mass tree with a child playing this role. Some other kids were involved in throwing dice.
Mind and technique beat strength…
The culminating point of the ball was a competition called ‘hitting the barrels’, which took place in four groups formed up according to the age of the children. The wooden barrels were hanged down on a rope and sweets were hidden inside of them. Knights armed with swords, princesses with charm and all the other children squared up for the fight with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, even the wizards’ magic was of no avail. A wooden club was the only tool, which was allowed to use. The children standing in a row hit the wooden barrel one by one until the barrel was destroyed and the sweets could be taken out as trophies. And not the oldest and strongest children were the first but the ones who used better technique. And indeed, the used methods were varied including taking a run-up, a swing or both, hitting powerfully or lightly, from the side or from above. Obviously, the adults supported the children and helped the youngest kids and the game ended with children eating the sweets heartily. ‘Hitting the barrels’ is a Danish tradition which is organized at the close of the carnival. This year, the original event took place in Denmark last Monday. ‘Fastalavn’ is the Danish name for this holiday, which marks the beginning of a period of fasting. But it is mostly known for ‘hitting the cat out of the barrel’. In the past, there was a real black cat put into the barrel and beating it superstitiously meant a safeguard against evil. Nowadays, the barrels are filled with sweets and fruit and only an image of a black cat put on the barrel reminds of the old times.
