It is believed that carnival began hundreds of years ago when the Catholics started the tradition of holding costume parties, eating in abundance and enjoying all possible excesses to prepare themselves to face up to the somber 40 days of Lent.

Over time the traditions have evolved and adopted new symbols, but Carnival is still celebrated  feverishly in Catalonia with fancy dress parties, parades and many old rituals.

One of the customs is to eat omelette and butifarra d’ou (a type of Catalan sausage made with egg) on Dijous Llarder (fatty Thursday), which was originally the first day of Carnival.

The festivities are presided by Carnestoltes, a straw figure that country folk hung from their barns and balconies during Carnival week, and still today  represents the king of Carnival.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent (known as Quaresma in Catalonia). On this day  the king of Carnival is set on fire  and a sardine is buried symbolizing the end of the celebrations.