Saturday 28 February 2009

carnival




Kuwait celebrates on the 26th of feb their liberation day. It has become a tradition of late afternoon street event, where people. young and old, parade in their decorated cars on the gulf road with flags, wearing their national colors, carrying foam sprays to come out with their communal joy. Cars become the float whether to parade, to watch, to produce music.. For three days, in a country where public expression needs official authorizations, everyone is able to let go off their emotional burst.
In all traditions, from the Rio Carnival to the Venice masquerade carnevale etc..., the human kind gets together and rejoices for a religious event, or a political date or an economic turning point (such as the end of harvest). It allows them to weave their similarities and ties into a society.

2 comments:

Selma said...

Yes, what a carnival... the kuwaity foam invaded the streets and the cars leaving only great white dots or flows of white waves. These three days are the closest to snow than kuwait would ever come.

Anonymous said...

I felt like people were celebrating the right to celebrate, a joyful rebellion as the invisible lid is removed. It was indeed a celebration of independence and liberation but not of a country but of a people. A celebration of happiness. There was a segment of society that was not celebrating, and either escaped and those who could not were in hiding. I used to be one of them till I liberated my self from my own prejudice.