Are there any Mardi Gras celebrations in Amsterdam?

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Well, I guess it depends on your perspective. I don't know about most countries, but in the US it is primarily a celebration of commerce --- e.g. the exchange of a string of shiny beads (that cost $1 per 1,000 or so...) for the public exposure of (hopefully) hot breasts. It's a beautiful thing.

Though I hear it used to be a way to blow off steam on the eve of Lent.

a celebration of commerce?! i think youll find things a little more cultured over here.

doog!

withnail

Hey Withnail,

Believe it or not, there is some culture over here! Super Bowl Sunday, Valentines Day, Presidents Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, and offcourse, the 4th of July (to celebrate our independence from the Brits)!

Tot ziens

hi james - well i never suggested the US was a culture free zone did i? mind you, 'super bowl sunday'? err.....

doog!

withnail

Man, if trading a trinket for a live look at a nice pair of tits, on the street, isn't the height of culture, I don't know what is! :)

I never thought of Mardi Gras as a celebration of commerce. The name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday which is the day before Ash Wednesday. Its roots are in Catholicism, and it's similar to Carnivale in Rio. It's the celebration before Lent. It stands to reason that in an overwhelmingly Protestant country like Holland, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

It is celebrated in the south, most notably Maastricht. Nearby German hotspots for "Fasching" are found in Koeln(Cologne) and Duesseldorf. I think events go through next Tuesday. Rozenmontag (next Monday) is big in Koeln.