Fastelavn

This weekend the Danes are celebrating Fastelavn.  Back in the days of yore it was a celebration to prepare for Lent; nowadays it is more of an opportunity for short people to dress up and have fun. 


One of the traditional games played during Fastelavn is 'slå katten af tønden' or 'hit the cat out of the barrel'.  Back in the day a cat, usually a black one, was put in a barrel and the barrel was beaten with sticks until the barrel broke and the (presumably terrified) cat escaped.  The cat was then chased out of town.  This procedure apparently helped to ward off evil.  These days a 'barrel' is filled with sweets and the ankle-biters take turns in beating the 'barrel' until the sweets fall out.  The one who breaks the barrel is crowned 'king or queen of cats' for the day.  It's a lot like the Spanish tradition of the piñata.


This being Denmark, the celebration is accompanied by the inevitable cake, Fastelavns Buns.  




Young persons go from door to door singing the Fastelavns song, sweetly demanding cakes from friends and neighbours.  More recently this is morphing into the US custom of trick or treat.