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Rooted in the Middle Ages, the Binche carnival,
a UNESCO World Heritage event, is one of Europe's oldest
surviving street carnivals and the biggest in Belgium.
The oldest and main participants in the carnival are the up to
1,000 Gilles, who wear medieval costumes in the black, red and
yellow colours of the Belgian flag and who parade in the centre
of Binche, a town of some 30,000 inhabitants southwest of
Brussels near the French border.
The costumes include ostrich-feather hats, wooden clogs, bells
and wax masks, elements which the Kersten family have been
designing and making for five generations.
"This year, we are celebrating the 120th anniversary of the
start of the 'Gilles de Binche' costumes production", said
57-year-old Fanny Kersten, who has been making costumes with her
father for 33 years.
"My great-great-grandfather decided to make a Gilles hat
following a bet with his friends ... It mustn't have been easy
for him but it worked out," she added.
The Binche carnival's cancellation in 2021 and 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic was a "black hole" for the business, Kersten
said, adding "we couldn't even imagine a future for the
carnival."
It was the first time the carnival was cancelled since World War
Two, significantly reducing costume makers' income from renting
out their pieces.
"Now (the return of the carnival) is a great relief. Still,
every morning we look at the COVID numbers," Kersten said.
Her ostrich feather hat weighs 4kg (8.8 lb) and maintaining it
takes 85 hours a year. The costume itself requires 13 hours of
work. Kersten said the family can make 300 costumes per year.
The carnival is due to take place from Feb. 19-21.
(Writing by Marine Strauss, editing by Vin Shahrestani)
(Photo: Costumes of "Gilles of Binche" are seen
at the workshop of Louis Kersten, 82, artisan and renter of
costumes for" Gilles of Binche" before the Binche carnival, a
UNESCO World Heritage event, in his workshop in Binche, Belgium
January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman)
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