Carnival season kicks off in the south; Children ready for Sint Maarten tonight

This is a big celebratory weekend for the Netherlands. Friday is the kickoff of Carnival season in Noord-Brabant and Limburg. Kids in parts of the country will also visit houses with songs and lanterns to celebrate Sint Maarten. And tomorrow, Sinterklaas will make his national arrival in Hellevoetsluis - if he can find a way around his steamboat sinking, that is.

Countless people took a day off on Friday to celebrate the 11th of the 11th, the kick-off of the Carnival season in the south of the Netherlands. The station square in Roermond is filled with colorfully dressed and painted revelers who will enjoy a variety of Limburg “vastelavoes” artists all day from 11:11 a.m. Roermond is the epicenter of the Limburg Carnival and expects 15,500 paying guests.

In Noord-Brabant, people mainly visit the pubs and squares in their hometowns. There will be no province-wide kick-off of the season.

For example, on the Parade in the Brabant capital Den Bosch, a heaving mass of red-white-yellow Carnivalists started partying at 11:11 a.m. after the bells of the Sint-Jan rang, and they sang the national anthem. In Breda, the Grote Markt is the place to be from 4:11 p.m. The new prince will be introduced at 5:11 p.m., followed by a pub crawl through the city. Other Brabant cities will also fall under the Carnival spell on Friday.

In parts of the country, children will celebrate Sint Maarten by going door-to-door with lanterns and singing a song in exchange for a treat. The annual festival is mainly celebrated in Noord-Holland and the north of the country.

The origin of the November 11 tradition is not entirely clear. For a long time, it was a begging party for the less fortunate. In some places, the celebration includes bonfires. Parts of Flanders, northern France, and Switzerland also celebrate the festival.

The weather will be perfect for the lantern parade on Friday evening, according to Weeronline. The service expects no rain and temperatures of around 10 degrees, so not super cold. There is also little wind, so children don’t have to worry abou their lanterns blowing away.

The weather for Sinterklaas’s arrival party in Hellevoetsluis on Saturday will be dry, sunny, and pleasant, according to Weeronline. Temperatures will be around 14 degrees.

Elsewhere in the country, the weather will also be nice at the smaller arrival parties. Sunshine and little wind are expected for almost the entire country. Temperatures will range between 13 degrees in the north and 16 or 17 degrees in Limburg.

The regional arrival parties happening on Sunday can also expect nice weather. It will be dry if a little more cloudy. And maximums will be between 13 and 16 degrees.