Carnival

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Carnival was originally a Roman Catholic celebration which ran from the day after Epiphany (the end of the Christmas celebration) until Mardi Gras (the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday).

Carnival is a public celebration combining a parade and a street party with music, dancing, food, drink and elaborate floats, circus acts and costumes. Not surprisingly, the word has entered the language, and has come to mean a time for relaxation and fun.

Nowadays the term Carnival is often given to purely secular celebrations, which may not even occur in the right time frame, for example the Notting Hill Carnival in August and the West Country Carnival in October and November.

Leaving aside these modern secular celebrations, the principal Carnival season starts two weeks before Ash Wednesday (although preparations and initial events for Mardi Gras in New Orleans start on 7th January, and in Poland some people begin Carnival activities on New Year’s Day!).

Most Protestant and non-Christian areas do not celebrate Carnival. Some fundamentalist Protestant groups and other Christian sects condemn the celebration for various reasons.

There have been many speculations about the origin of Carnival, some saying it is a Christianisation of the Roman Saturnalia and Lupercalia, or another pagan Spring festival which was intended to drive away evil spirits.

Carnival celebrations take place in many places across the globe, from Sydney in Australia to Montevideo in Uruguay, and in the US from Biloxi to San Francisco.

Carnival around the World

United Kingdom

In England, Shrovetide was the nearest equivalent to Carnival. Shrovetide was the week before Shrove Tuesday, during which time, everyone had to visit their priest to have their confessions heard and do penance (after which they were said to be "shriven") before the start of Lent. There were some other events during this week, including fooball matches, but nothing even close to what we normally associate with Carnival today.

Northern Europe

The Netherlands celebrate Vastenavond or Karnaval, which in its most famous form is called Rijnlandsche Carnival. Most of Germany calls the celebrations Fastnacht, except in the South and parts of Austria where it is called Fasching. Munich's Fasching Festival is particularly well known.

Southern Europe

Patras Carnival is the largest annual celebration in Greece, a "grand spectacle" starting a week before the Greek Orthodox Lent. Carnival in Venice was first recorded in 1268, although it was outlawed at various times especially while Venice was under the influence of the Austrian Empire.

In Milan, Carnival extends into Lent and finishes on the Saturday after Ash Wednesday, to take account of the Ambrossian Rites. Karnival in Malta was first held in 1535. It is traditional that people dress in colourful clothing and mask their identity.

Sitges probably holds the most famous celebrations in Spain. The Carnival in Tenerife also includes the famous Parade Of Drag Queens.

Caribbean Islands

Carnival is celebrated on many islands, probably the most well known is Haiti.

South America

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is the most famous Carnival in the world, but other celebrations in Brazil include those in Bahia and Pernambuco. If Brazil's celebrations seem over-hyped, you could try out those in Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana or Venezuela.

North America

New Orleans' position as premier Carnival in the US was severely damaged by Hurrican Katrina in 2005, and there was some talk of abandoning it altogether the following year out of "respect for the dead" - luckily the prevailing viewpoint has been that it should be continued, for the very same reason. In any case, it is one of the major sources of income for many of the city's inhabitants, who rely on tourism. Other well known carnivals include Quebec, in the French-speaking part of Canada.