Fastelavn Celebration - At Indy's Global Village

Join us for a celebration of Danish Heritage and the Fastelavn holiday. “Fastelavn er mit navn” is a very common phrase sung by Danish children and their parents when celebrating the fun and festive – but not so widely known – Nordic holiday of Fastelavn (pronounced something like “fest-e-laun”). Celebrated in February or early March across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, Fastelavn means “the evening before Lent”, as the holiday is based on the Catholic tradition of celebrating the run-up to Lent. During Lent, which traditionally lasts for 40 days, eating fatty foods and meat was not allowed, and historically Fastelavn served as a ritual-based feast to prepare for this period of abstinence. Today, however, Lent is not widely practised among Nordic people, so Fastelavn has largely become a fun-focused children’s festival featuring merry and distinctive traditions – some of which are in fact based on rather dark rituals of the past.