The changeover from Carnival to Lent is marked in Mallorca by El Entierro de la Sardina (funeral of the sardine).

A mock funeral is staged by some villages with a funeral procession, where mostly youngsters parade an enormous sardine made from papier maché up and down the Calle Mayor of their pueblo. A priest impersonator leads the funeral ceremony that had previously been advertised in the form of public death announcements. The authorities, including the church, get a thorough mocking in the process. A lot of teasing is shared by all. After all, these festivities mark the end of Carnival.

In the village of Ca’s Concos des Cavaller, near Felanitx, youngsters follow the old Shrove Tuesday tradition of hijacking carts, gates, mopeds and bicycles from local farmers’ fincas in the dark of the night and displaying them in a square behind the parish church. The next morning, i. e. today, Ash Wednesday, the pranksters’ victims can come and reclaim their farming utensils.

The photos were taken in Felanitx and in Ca’s Concos d’es Cavaller, Mallorca, Spain, respectively. The dates were: February 6th, 2008, the time: 20:31:01; January 31st, 2008, the time: 16:18:35; February 7th, 2008, the time: 08:24:55.