Jueves Lardero

"Jueves Lardero" is a festival celebrated on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. It's a festival celebrated in many places in Spain, but in Soria it is very important. Jueves Lardero is also the first day of Carnival. It began because people couldn't eat meat during Lent and as they couldn't store it either, they made a festival to eat everything they had before the forty days of vigil.

In Soria, we say: "Jueves Lardero, pan chorizo y huevo" which means ""lardy thursday" bread, chorizo and egg". Most people usually go to the countryside and eat this and other things (we can also make a chorizo-omelette sandwich). Young people also go out with their friends to some parks near the city and make camp-fires.
This year the weather wasn't so good (it had snowed the previous night and there was mud everywhere and it was below 0ºC) but anyway everyone went out to have a good time. At least, we were out until midday, when it started to snow, and we had to continue the party at home.

In the rest of Spain people have a holiday on Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, but here in Soria we have Jueves Lardero and the next day to celebrate. It has been like this since the seventeenth century.

After Jueves Lardero, young people dress up and parade in the streets at night. There are also some competitions in the old part of the city for the kids.

That's all for today. I'd like to know if you also celebrate carnival there in Sweden.