Binche， a medieval city in Belgium， is more than 60 kilometers south of Brussels， Hainaut. In the three days before Lent here， over 32，000 residents of the city hold carnival every year. On every such occasion， almost all residents in this historic city are mobilized. Most importantly， the carnival also attracts outpourings of visitors from around the world. This is the famous Carnival of Binche， which can be traced back to the Middle Ages， is one of the oldest existing street carnivals in Europe.

In Binche， carnival preparations begin as early as six weeks ahead. The entire city is immersed in a festive atmosphere. During the period of time， people are busy with gorgeous costume making， drum performance rehearsals and masquerade preparation to celebrate the festival. The first day of the pre-Lent three days falls on Sunday， marking an official start of the carnival. At this time， streets， alleyways， cafes and the like are all packed with happy masked people. Men in exotic women’s dresses is a highlight of the day. The final pre-Quadragesima day is Tuesday when the dramatic appearance of legendary character Gilles presents a climax of the carnival.

比利時(shí)中世紀(jì)的城市——班什，位于比利時(shí)埃諾省布魯塞爾的南部60多公里處。每年大齋期前的三天時(shí)間里，這個(gè)有著32，000多居民的城市都在舉辦狂歡節(jié)。每逢此時(shí)，這座歷史古城的居民幾乎全體總動(dòng)員。不僅如此，狂歡節(jié)還吸引了來自世界各地的游客蜂擁而至。這就是著名的班什狂歡節(jié)，它的歷史可追溯至中世紀(jì)，是歐洲現(xiàn)存的最為古老的街道狂歡節(jié)之一。

班什狂歡節(jié)的準(zhǔn)備工作需提前6個(gè)星期開始，整座城市皆沉浸在節(jié)日的氣氛之中。為了歡度佳節(jié)，人們忙著制作華麗的服飾、排練鼓樂演出以及準(zhǔn)備化妝舞會(huì)。齋期前三天的第一天是星期日，這標(biāo)志著狂歡節(jié)正式開始。這時(shí)，大街小巷，咖啡店到處簇?fù)碇髅婢叩臍g樂人群。男子身穿奇異女裝，是這一天的突出亮點(diǎn)。四旬齋前的最后一天是星期二，傳說中的人物吉勒戲劇性的出現(xiàn)，使狂歡節(jié)達(dá)到高潮。

After the dressing ceremony， hundreds of people， dressed up as Gilles in red， yellow or black clothing， proceed along the city to the drumbeats， wearing caps stuck with ostrich feathers on their heads， clogs on the feet with bells and in wax masks decorated with pairs of small green glasses. Followed by funny clowns， farmers， local brass bands and dressed carnival crowd， all of them constitute a bustling parade. Dancers， to the traditional music of viola and drum， put on a myriad of exotic performance， including Gilles dance， a long-established show. When the colorful fireworks lighten up the night sky， the main square is alive with Gilles dance， pushing carnival celebrations to a peak.

Binche carnival is known as a truly national holiday. The participants are all spontaneous in a readiness to provide financial support. The residents are deeply proud of the celebration and fully get themselves involved in the preservation of traditional carnival-related music and dance as well as production techniques of crafts， clothing and costumes.

舉行著裝儀式后，幾百個(gè)人裝扮成吉勒，身穿紅色、黃色或黑色服裝，頭頂插著鴕鳥羽毛的帽子，腳踏木屐，佩帶鈴鐺，戴著配有一副綠色小眼鏡的蠟質(zhì)面具，踩著鼓點(diǎn)穿城而過。后面跟著滑稽小丑和農(nóng)夫，地方銅管樂隊(duì)和化了妝的狂歡人群，組成了熙熙攘攘的游行隊(duì)伍。舞蹈者在中提琴和鼓的傳統(tǒng)樂曲中表演一系列奇異舞步。當(dāng)絢麗多彩的焰火照亮夜空時(shí)，大廣場(chǎng)上又跳起了長(zhǎng)年保留的節(jié)目——一種叫作“吉勒”的舞蹈，慶祝活動(dòng)也就達(dá)到狂歡節(jié)頂峰。

班什的狂歡節(jié)被稱為一種真正的民族節(jié)日，參與者都是自發(fā)的，而且樂于提供財(cái)力支持。該城居民對(duì)這項(xiàng)慶典深感驕傲，并全心致力于保存狂歡節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)音樂和舞蹈，以及工藝、服飾、道具的制作技術(shù)。