Aruba Carnival

Aruba, the island placed in southern part of Caribbean Sea, was inhabited since abut 1000 AD. More than thousand years that passed were enough to create a specific culture characteristic only for Caribbean nations. But Aruban culture differs a bit from typical Caribbean cultures, too. It should be noticed that since seventeenth century Aruba stays strongly connected with Netherlands, therefore the Dutch influence on the culture is clearly visible. The fusion of Indian, Spanish and Dutch fundamentals gave the Aruban culture unrepeatable character.

The Aruban culture evolved from the different basis that together made a unique mix. Despite there are a few European ceremonies (because of the Dutch influence) used to be celebrated in Aruba, the whole passion and joy remained Caribbean. People are happy, cheerful, and extremely friendly what creates an unbelievable feeling of togetherness. Those positive moods are also visible on the colors that also play very important role in Aruban culture. Lively yellows and blues, also reds symbolize the attachment to the motherland and tradition.

The National Day (celebrated on March 18), Sinterklaas (December 5-6) or ‘Dia di la Reina’ are the celebration days popular in Aruba. But there is no other celebration day that can be compared to the great Aruba Carnival. The party which size overshadow all the others. The greatest party of Aruba begins every year on the end of January or (depends on the actual year) first days of Februrary and – what’s amazing – lasts about a month. During this time a lot of separate ceremonies take their place.

There is no better way to illustrate the magnitude of Aruba Carnival than to check the schedule of the next celebrations. Maybe it would convince somebody to visit Aruba himself? The 2010 Aruba Carnival begins in San Nicolas on Sunday, January 31. The first ceremony is called ‘Aruba Children Parade’ and begins just at 1:00 p.m. . The next, widely-known ceremony is ‘Aruba Youth Queen Election’ that starts on eight in the evening Friday, February 5. The day after ‘Noord Children Parade’ is celebrated in Noord – as the name suggests. The same day – February 6, Saturday – the capital city – Oranjestad – is a place where ‘Aruba Tivoli Lighting Parade’ is celebrated. Also children in Oranjestad have their own ceremony – on February 7, Sunday. It is called ‘Aruba Big Children Parade’. The main ‘Aruba Carnaval Queen Election’ starts on 8 p.m. on February 11, Thursday. Two days after (February 13, Saturday) there is ‘Jouvert Morning Pajamas Parade’ in San Nicolas. Warning, it requires waking up very early or – what’s much more probable (it’s a carnival!) – not going to sleep at all. It begins just at 4 a.m.

Everything that’s nice, unfortunately, ends fast. The accumulation of emotions, the moment every carnival guest waits for comes on the weekend February 13-14. On the Big Saturday there is a great ‘Aruba Carnival Parade’ in San Nicolas, starting on 1:00 p.m. As the final countdown ends the party moves back to Oranjestad. The capital of Aruba hosts the greatest parade of the whole carnival – ‘Aruba Big Carnival Parade’ on February 14 (starting on 11:00 a.m.). That’s the most spectacular party of the Aruba Carnival that simply cannot be missed. There are also some special, quite different parties – maybe not parades or ceremonys but the occasion for fun as well. The visitors that have already seen the Aruba Carnival especially boast the pajama parties. The all night long plays are totally unique. Also the lightning parades are very often recommended because of their stunning mood and the views of thousands of lights. Also, the Jouvert Morning – the Pajama Parade - should not be missed. Arubans and former visitors as well say that the unavoidable point of the celebration program is the miss election. There are some different “categories” – you can choose from the small miss, medium miss, and the large miss election. There is also a mrs. election. At least one of those shows should be seen – they’re certainly worth it.

But the final success depends on people joining the Carnival. Arubans are really good-mooded and (like most of Caribbean nations) love fun. They got an unbelievable pleasure just dancing and singing. Their way of living is unrepeatable nowhere in the world. This is the thing that the rest of the world can only envy.

The Aruba Carnival in its fantastic shape might have been created only with the real Caribbean fantasy and imaginativeness. You can continue persuading that maybe the carnival in Rio de Janeiro is bigger and attracts a lot more people, but remember that Brazil is a country with population amount of about 200,000,000 people. Aruba is inhabited by about 100,000 people. That cannot be compared. What’s also impressive? The passion and real joy of Arubans sharing their biggest ceremonies with foreigners. The common party continues till the last man drops.

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