During carnival in Maastricht, in heavy snowfall, young and old gather in the streets despite the cold. Emotion rises. Laughter. Excess. Transformation. Faces shift. Identities loosen. In a world shaped by uncertainty, as everyday life feels more fragile, these moments take on another weight. Not celebration alone, but a need to feel alive. To gather. To reconnect. To play. To feel present. To belong again, even briefly. An insistence on life, here and now. Against the weight of what surrounds us.
