There where three countries meet (Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands) and where I was born and raised, a festival, simply called 'Carnival' is celebrated seven weeks before Easter and therefore mostly falls somewhere in February.
The festival lasts three days and is full of craziness and joy. Everybody, small and old, rich and poor will wear a costume, put on a crazy hat or paint their face. They will sing silly songs that are especially written for this festival, dance like clowns and hold satirical speeches. They will celebrate as if there is no tomorrow and that's the essence of this feast.
There are no worries, no important choices to make, no regrets, nothing to learn, nothing to do except having fun and enjoying yourself. It is a time of letting go; letting go of things gone by, your mistakes, your misfortunes, your hurts and your pains without worrying about things to come.
The ancient Romans celebrated a feast of spiritual cleansing in February after which this month is actually named (see February). For me there is no better way to do this then go crazy for three days and let go. It heals my wounds and breaks my chains. It sets me free again and fills me with joy. And which other power would allow and support all this and fill me with such happiness than the power of love.
I strongly feel that February is that time of year when the power of love manifests itself. Maybe that is why we also celebrate Valentine's Day in this month. But given the choice between a romantic dinner, loads of chocolate or 'Carnival', I still prefer, just this one time a year, to let go and be crazy, crazy in love with Love.
