Carnivals in the Basque Country are celebrated in eleven different villages and cities and they are usually lively and colourful celebrations. This way of celebrating carnivals has attracted attention all over Europe. They are associated with the old tradition of the Basque Country and they have been celebrated in different ways since the age of the Roman Empire. Each village or city has a typical character and all the celebrations are associated with this character.They have had a lot of changes during the years in the costumes, rituals, meanings and ways to celebrate them. They have been also denounced several times, for example by Franco's dictatorship. But they always have been a very important part of the basque culture and it is also a symbol of it.