Warsaw Mommy Blog

It is a source of never-ending confusion for me that Poland doesn’t celebrate Halloween (I know, right?), but I feel that they more than make up for this by celebrating a little something called ‘Karnawał’ (Carnival). This is nothing less than a no-hands-barred, blow-out, lampshade-on-the-head nationally-recognised spring PAAARTAY just before Lent and Easter. I think it’s supposed to be some kind of guilt-free debauchery and gluttony to hold one over through the looming austerity and denial of Lent. I suppose it’s easier to not eat chocolates if you’ve spent the 2-week period of Carnival gorging on them, right? It’s worth noting that Fat Thursday always ushers in the Carnival season, nicely setting the tone for guiltless binging and the mindless pleasure of cramming sweet stuff into one’s mouth.

Anyway. The thing I really love about Spring Carnival is that the kids get all dressed up and then party with costumes and funny hats and fake whiskers on, though (very sadly) there is no such thing as trick-or-treating. So this year, Max went off to school all decked out as the Dread Pirate Maksiu (any other ‘Princess Bride’ fans out there?). There are very few men who can pull off the eyepatch look successfully, but this kid is one of them. In his Mommy’s humble opinion, of course.

P.S. And I love the fact that ‘Trouble’ is written on the shirt… sometimes the truth is kind of cute, especially when it takes the form of a fashion statement as opposed to a 25-minute discussion about why a three-year-old has to wear a scarf when it’s minus 8 degrees outside. Just as an example.