Poklade, fašnik or mesopust is best described as a seven day festive period before Lent (the forty day preparation for Easter). It encompasses various traditions: carnivals, trick-or-treating (kids favorite), parades, effigy burning and so on.
Carnivals vary from region to region of the country. The one thing in common – masks. They are a remnant of scaring away evil spirits as well as social criticism, criticism of the social norm, and they are often wicked. The effigy that is usually always burned at the end of the carnival takes the blame for all the evil that happened in the previous year.
And how do we celebrate this in our libraries? Well, it’s sort of obvious. We become artists and create lots of different masks with our members.
Written by Borna. Posted by Paria.
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