@Timo_Micro I did grow up with carnaval (to some degree) and at least back then, the recognition of history was mixed; there was a lot of focus on the local traditions (those in Roosendaal in my case), but not so much on its historical roots.

It was mostly seen as an 'event for everyone to come together and have fun', to kind of blow off steam and generally celebrate.

That 'everyone' part seems to have persisted to this day, given the controversy this year over carnaval events moving indoors and requiring (paid) tickets to get into; a lot of people are calling out how it excludes a lot of people from the festivities, and is not in the spirit of carnaval.