Carnival
Carnival (see other spellings and names) is a Western Christian and
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox festive season that occurs before the liturgical season
of Lent.[2] The main events typically occur during February or early
March, during the period historically known as
Shrovetide (or
Pre-Lent).
Carnival
Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade
combining some elements of a circus, masks, and a public street party.
People wear masks and costumes during many such celebrations, allowing
them to lose their everyday individuality and experience a heightened
sense of social unity.[3] Excessive consumption of alcohol,[4] meat,
and other foods proscribed during
Lent
Lent is extremely common. Other
common features of carnival include mock battles such as food fights;
social satire and mockery of authorities; the grotesque body
displaying exaggerated features, especially large noses, bellies,
mouths, and phalli, or elements of animal bodies; abusive language and
degrading acts; depictions of disease and gleeful death; and a general
reversal of everyday rules and norms.[3][5]
The term
Carnival
Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic
presence, as well as in Greece. the Philippines, a predominantly Roman
Catholic
Catholic country in Asia, also celebrates
Carnival
Carnival (or Mardi Gras).[6]
In historically Evangelical
Lutheran
Lutheran countries, the celebration is
known as Fastelavn,[7][8] and in areas with a high concentration of
Anglicans
Anglicans (
Church of England
Church of England / Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.),
Methodists, and other Protestants, pre-Lenten celebrations, along with
penitential observances, occur on Shrove Tuesday.[9] In Slavic Eastern
Orthodox nations,
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa is celebrated during the last week before
Great Lent. In German-speaking
Europe
.svg/400px-Eurasia_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Europe and the Netherlands, the
Carnival
Carnival season traditionally opens on 11/11 (often at
11:11 a.m.). This dates back to celebrations before the Advent
season or with harvest celebrations of St. Martin's Day.[citation
needed]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Origin
2.2 Development
3 Theories
4 Geographic distribution
4.1 Africa
4.1.1 Cape Verde Islands
4.1.2 Seychelles
4.1.3 Zimbabwe
4.2 Americas
4.2.1 Antigua
4.2.2 Argentina
4.2.3 Aruba
4.2.4 Bahamas
4.2.5 Barbados
4.2.6 Belize
4.2.7 Bolivia
4.2.8 Brazil
4.2.8.1 Rio de Janeiro
4.2.8.2 Recife, Pernambuco
4.2.8.3 Salvador, Bahia
4.2.9 Canada
4.2.10 Caribbean
4.2.11 Colombia
4.2.12 Dominica
4.2.13 Dominican Republic
4.2.14 Ecuador
4.2.15 French Guiana
4.2.16 Guatemala
4.2.17 Haiti
4.2.18 Honduras
4.2.19 Mexico
4.2.20 Nicaragua
4.2.21 Panama
4.2.22 Peru
4.2.22.1 Cajamarca
4.2.22.2 Violence
4.2.23 Puerto Rico
4.2.24
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago
4.2.25 United States
4.2.26 Uruguay
4.2.27 Venezuela
4.3 Asia
4.3.1 India
4.3.2 Indonesia
4.3.3 Israel
4.3.4 Turkey
4.4 Europe
4.4.1 Belgium
4.4.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
4.4.3 Croatia
4.4.4 Cyprus
4.4.5 Czech Republic
4.4.6
Denmark
Denmark and Norway
4.4.7 England
4.4.8 France
4.4.9 Germany, Switzerland, and Austria
4.4.9.1 Germany
4.4.9.2 "Rheinische"
Carnival
Carnival (Fasnacht, Fasnet, Fastabend,
Fastelovend, Fasteleer, Fasching)
4.4.9.3 "Swabian-Alemannic"
Carnival
Carnival (Schwäbische Fastnacht)
4.4.9.4 Swiss Fasnacht
4.4.10 Greece
4.4.11 Hungary
4.4.12 Italy
4.4.13 Lithuania
4.4.14 Luxembourg
4.4.15 Malta
4.4.16 Netherlands
4.4.17 Poland
4.4.18 Portugal
4.4.18.1 Lazarim
4.4.18.2 Azores
4.4.18.3 Madeira
4.4.18.4 Other regions
4.4.19 Republic of Macedonia
4.4.20 Russia
4.4.21 Slovakia
4.4.22 Slovenia
4.4.23 Spain
4.4.23.1 Andalusia
4.4.23.2 Canary Islands
4.4.23.3 Catalonia
4.4.23.4 Valencian Community
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
Etymology[edit]
The Latin-derived name of the holiday is sometimes also spelled
Carnaval, typically in areas where Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and
Portuguese are spoken, or Carnevale in Italian-speaking contexts.
Alternative names are used for regional and local
celebrations.[citation needed]
Folk etymologies[10] state that the word comes from the Late Latin
expression carne levare, which means "farewell to meat", signifying
the approaching fast. The word carne may also be translated as flesh,
producing "a farewell to the flesh", a phrase embraced by certain
carnival celebrants to embolden the festival's carefree spirit. [10]
However, this interpretation is not supported by philological
evidence.
Other scholars argue that the origin is the festival of the Navigium
Isidis ("ship of Isis"), where the image of
Isis
Isis was carried to the
seashore to bless the start of sailing season.[11] The festival
consisted of a parade of masks following an adorned wooden boat,
called in
Latin
Latin carrus navalis, possibly the source of both the name
and the parade floats.
History[edit]
Origin[edit]
The traditional carnival of Acireale, Sicily
From the anthropological point of view, carnival is a reversal ritual,
in which social roles are reversed and norms about desired behavior
are suspended.[12]
Winter was thought of as the reign of the winter spirits; these needed
to be driven out in order for the summer to return.
Carnival
Carnival can thus
be regarded as a rite of passage from darkness to light, from winter
to summer: a fertility celebration, the first spring festival of the
new year.[13]
Traditionally, a carnival feast was the last opportunity for common
people to eat well, as there was typically a food shortage at the end
of the winter as stores ran out. Until spring produce was available,
people were limited to the minimum necessary meals during this period.
On what nowadays is called vastenavond (the days before fasting), all
the remaining winter stores of lard, butter, and meat which were left
would be eaten, for these would otherwise soon start to rot and decay.
The selected livestock had already been slaughtered in November and
the meat would be no longer preservable. All the food that had
survived the winter had to be eaten to assure that everyone was fed
enough to survive until the coming spring would provide new food
sources.[14]
Several Germanic tribes celebrated the returning of the daylight. The
winter would be driven out, to make sure that fertility could return
in spring.[12] A central figure of this ritual was possibly the
fertility goddess Nerthus. Also, there are some indications that the
effigy of Nerthus[15] or
Freyr
Freyr was placed on a ship with wheels and
accompanied by a procession of people in animal disguise and men in
women's clothes.[14][16][17] Aboard the ship a marriage would be
consummated as a fertility ritual.[18][19]
Tacitus
Tacitus wrote in his Germania: Germania 9.6: Ceterum nec cohibere
parietibus deos neque in ullam humani oris speciem adsimulare ex
magnitudine caelestium arbitrator – "The Germans, however, do not
consider it consistent with the grandeur of celestial beings to
confine the gods within walls, or to liken them to the form of any
human countenance." Germania 40: mox vehiculum et vestis et, si
credere velis, numen ipsum secreto lacu abluitur – "Afterwards the
car, the vestments, and, if you like to believe it, the divinity
herself, are purified in a secret lake."[20]
Traditionally, the feast also was a time to indulge sexual desires,
which were supposed to be suppressed during the following
fasting.[14][21] Before
Lent
Lent began, all rich food and drink were
consumed in what became a giant celebration that involved the whole
community, and is thought to be the origin of Carnival.[citation
needed]
In many Christian sermons and texts, the example of a vessel is used
to explain Christian doctrine: "the nave of the church of baptism",
"the ship of Mary", etc. The writings show that processions with
ship-like carts were held and lavish feasts were celebrated on the eve
of
Lent
Lent or the greeting of spring in the early Middle Ages. The
Catholic
Catholic church condemned this "devilish debauchery" and "pagan
rituals". As early as the year 325, the First Council of Nicaea
attempted to end these pagan festivals.[14][18]
The Lenten period of the liturgical calendar, the six weeks directly
before Easter, was historically marked by fasting, study, and other
pious or penitential practices. During Lent, no parties or
celebrations were held, and people refrained from eating rich foods,
such as meat, dairy, fat, and sugar. The first three classes were
often totally unavailable during this period because of late winter
shortages.[22]
While Christian festivals such as Corpus Christi were
church-sanctioned celebrations,
Carnival
Carnival was also a manifestation of
European folk culture. In the Christian tradition, the fasting is to
commemorate the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the desert, according to
the New Testament, and also to reflect on Christian values. It was a
time for adult converts to prepare for baptism at Easter. As with
other Christian festivals such as Christmas, which was originally a
pagan midwinter festival, the Christian church has found it easier to
absorb the pagan Carnaval into its religious tradition than to
eliminate it.[14]
Carnival
Carnival in the
Middle Ages
Middle Ages took not just a few days, but almost the
entire period between
Christmas
Christmas and the beginning of Lent. In those
two months,
Catholic
Catholic populations used several
Catholic
Catholic holidays as an
outlet for their daily frustrations.[23]
Many synods and councils attempted to set things "right". Caesarius of
Arles (470–542) protested around 500 CE in his sermons against the
pagan practices. Centuries later, his statements were adapted as the
building blocks of the
Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum
Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum ("small
index of superstitious and pagan practices"), which was drafted by the
Synod
Synod of Leptines in 742. It condemned the Spurcalibus en
februario.[14][18]
Pope
Pope
Gregory the Great
Gregory the Great (590–604) decided that fasting would start on
Ash Wednesday. The whole
Carnival
Carnival event was set before the fasting, to
set a clear division between the pagan and the Christian custom. It
was also the custom during
Carnival
Carnival that the ruling class would be
mocked using masks and disguises.[14][18]
In the year 743, the synod in Leptines (Leptines is located near
Binche
Binche in Belgium) spoke out furiously against the excesses in the
month of February.[18] Also from the same period dates the phrase:
"Whoever in February by a variety of less honorable acts tries to
drive out winter is not a Christian, but a pagan." Confession books
from around 800 contain more information about how people would dress
as an animal or old woman during the festivities in January and
February, even though this was a sin with no small
penance.[14][18][24] Also in Spain, San Isidoro de Sevilla complained
in his writings in the seventh century of people coming out into the
streets disguised in many cases as the opposite gender.[25]
Development[edit]
Gradually, the ecclesiastical authority began to realize that the
desired result could not be attained by banning the traditions, which
eventually led to a degree of Christianization. The festivities became
part of the liturgy and the liturgical year.[18]
While forming an integral part of the Christian calendar, particularly
in
Catholic
Catholic regions, many
Carnival
Carnival traditions resemble those
antedating Christianity.[26] Italian
Carnival
Carnival is sometimes thought to
be derived from the ancient Roman festivals of
Saturnalia
Saturnalia and
Bacchanalia. The Saturnalia, in turn, may be based on the Greek
Dionysia
Dionysia and Oriental festivals.[original research?]
While medieval pageants and festivals such as Corpus Christi were
church-sanctioned,
Carnival
Carnival was also a manifestation of medieval folk
culture. Many local
Carnival
Carnival customs are claimed to derive from local
pre-Christian rituals, such as elaborate rites involving masked
figures in the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht. However, evidence is
insufficient to establish a direct origin from
Saturnalia
Saturnalia or other
ancient festivals. No complete accounts of
Saturnalia
Saturnalia survive, and the
shared features of feasting, role reversals, temporary social
equality, masks, and permitted rule-breaking do not necessarily
constitute a coherent festival or link these festivals. These
similarities may represent a reservoir of cultural resources that can
embody multiple meanings and functions. For example,
Easter
.jpg)
Easter begins
with the resurrection of Jesus, followed by a liminal period, and ends
with rebirth.
Carnival
Carnival reverses this as King
Carnival
Carnival comes to life,
and a liminal period follows before his death. Both feasts are
calculated by the lunar calendar. Both Jesus and King
Carnival
Carnival may be
seen as expiatory figures who make a gift to the people with their
deaths. In the case of Jesus, the gift is eternal life in heaven, and
in the case of King Carnival, the acknowledgement that death is a
necessary part of the cycle of life.[27] Besides Christian
anti-Judaism, the commonalities between church and
Carnival
Carnival rituals
and imagery suggest a common root. Christ's passion is itself
grotesque: since early Christianity, Christ is figured as the victim
of summary judgment, and is tortured and executed by Romans before a
Jewish mob ("His blood is on us and on our children!" Matthew
27:24–25).
Holy Week
Holy Week processions in Spain include crowds who
vociferously insult the figure of Jesus. Irreverence, parody,
degradation, and laughter at a tragicomic effigy of God can be seen as
intensifications of the sacred order.[28] In 1466, the
Catholic
Catholic Church
under
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II revived customs of the
Saturnalia
Saturnalia carnival: Jews
were forced to race naked through the streets of the city of Rome.
"Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the
race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for
spectators. They ran… amid Rome's taunting shrieks and peals of
laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony
and laughed heartily," an eyewitness reports.[29]:74
Some of the best-known traditions, including carnal parades and
masquerade balls, were first recorded in medieval Italy. The Carnival
of
Venice
Venice was, for a long time, the most famous carnival (although
Napoleon
Napoleon abolished it in 1797 and only in 1979 was the tradition
restored). From Italy,
Carnival
Carnival traditions spread to Spain, Portugal,
and France, and from
France
France to
New France
New France in North America. From Spain
and Portugal, it spread with colonization to the
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean and Latin
America. In the early 19th century in the German
Rhineland
Rhineland and
Southern Netherlands, the weakened medieval tradition also revived.
Continuously in the 18th and 19th centuries CE, as part of the annual
Saturnalia
Saturnalia abuse of the carnival in Rome, rabbis of the ghetto were
forced to march through the city streets wearing foolish guise, jeered
upon and pelted by a variety of missiles from the crowd. A petition of
the Jewish community of
Rome
Rome sent in 1836 to
Pope
Pope Gregory XVI to stop
the annual anti-semitic
Saturnalia
Saturnalia abuse got a negation: "It is not
opportune to make any innovation."[29]:33,74–75
In the
Rhineland
Rhineland in 1823, the first modern
Carnival
Carnival parade took place
in Cologne.[30] The upper
Rhineland
Rhineland is mostly Protestant, as is most
of Northern
Germany
Germany and Northern Europe. Carnaval (
Fasching
Fasching or
Fastnacht in Germany) mixed pagan traditions with Christian
traditions. Pre-Lenten celebrations featured parades, costumes and
masks to endure Lent's withdrawal from worldly pleasures.[citation
needed]
Riderless Racers at
Rome
Rome by Théodore Géricault. From the mid-15th
century until 1882, spring carnival in
Rome
Rome closed with a horse race.
Fifteen to 20 riderless horses, originally imported from the Barbary
Coast of North Africa, ran the length of the Via del Corso, a long,
straight city street, in about 2½ minutes.
Other areas developed their own traditions. In the United Kingdom,
West Indian immigrants brought with them the traditions of Caribbean
Carnival; however, the Carnivals now celebrated at Notting Hill,
Leeds, Yorkshire, and other places became divorced from their
religious origin and became secular events that take place in the
summer months.[citation needed]
Theories[edit]
Carnival
Carnival in Donetsk, Ukraine, 2010
Interpretations of
Carnival
Carnival present it as a social institution that
degrades or "uncrowns" the higher functions of thought, speech, and
the soul by translating them into the grotesque body, which serves to
renew society and the world,[3] as a release for impulses that
threaten the social order that ultimately reinforces social norms,[31]
as a social transformation,[32] or as a tool for different groups to
focus attention on conflicts and incongruities by embodying them in
"senseless" acts.[33]
Geographic distribution[edit]
Africa[edit]
Cape Verde Islands[edit]
Carnival
Carnival was introduced by Portuguese settlers. The celebration is
celebrated on each of the archipelago's nine inhabited islands. In
Mindelo, São Vicente, groups challenge each other for a yearly prize.
It has imported various
Brazilian Carnival
.jpg/600px-Desfile_Portela_2014_(906185).jpg)
Brazilian Carnival traditions. The celebration
in São Nicolau is more traditional, where established groups parade
through the Ribeira Brava, gathering in the town square, although it
has adopted drums, floats and costumes from Brazil. In São Nicolau,
three groups, Copa Cabana, Estrela Azul, and Brilho Da Zona, construct
a painted float using fire, newspaper for the mold, and iron and steel
for structure.
Carnival
Carnival São Nicolau is celebrated over three days:
dawn Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and Tuesday.[34] The celebrations are
captured in the award-winning feature documentary Tchindas, nominated
at the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Seychelles[edit]
The
Seychelles
Seychelles carnival began in 2011. It is held in the capital city
of Victoria and takes place over three days. On Day 1, the grand
opening is held in the city center near the clock tower. The second
day is parade day. On Day 3, the closing ceremony is held, and a
lottery winner is announced.[citation needed]
Zimbabwe[edit]
The
Harare
Harare
Carnival
Carnival is held late in May. Events include fashion and
music shows. The climax is a street party featuring costumes and
music.[35]
Americas[edit]
Antigua[edit]
Main article:
Antigua
Antigua Carnival
The Antiguan
Carnival
Carnival is held from the end of July to the first
Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert (or
juvé), in which brass and steel drum bands perform. Barbuda's
Carnival, held in June, is known as "Caribana". The Antiguan and
Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time
Christmas
Christmas Festival in 1957,
with hopes of inspiring tourism.[citation needed]
Argentina[edit]
In Argentina, the most representative
Carnival
Carnival performed is the
so-called Murga, although other famous Carnivals, more like Brazil's,
are held in Argentine Mesopotamia and the North-East. Gualeguaychú in
the east of
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos Province is the most important
Carnival
Carnival city
and has one of the largest parades. It adopts a musical background
similar to Brazilian or Uruguayan Carnival.
Corrientes
Corrientes is another city
with a
Carnival
Carnival tradition.
Chamamé is a popular musical style. In all
major cities and many towns throughout the country,
Carnival
Carnival is
celebrated.[citation needed]
As
Carnival
Carnival coincides with summer in the Southern Hemisphere, in many
parts of
Argentina
Argentina children play with water. The 19th century
tradition of filling empty egg shells with water has evolved into
water games that include the throwing of water balloons.[citation
needed]
Aruba[edit]
Carnival
Carnival in
Aruba
Aruba means weeks of events that bring colourfully
decorated floats, contagiously throbbing music, luxuriously costumed
groups of celebrants of all ages, King and Queen elections,
electrifying jump-ups and torchlight parades, the Jouvert morning: the
Children's Parades, and finally the Grand Parade. Aruba's biggest
celebration is a month-long affair consisting of festive "jump-ups"
(street parades), spectacular parades, and creative contests. Music
and flamboyant costumes play a central role, from the Queen elections
to the Grand Parade. Street parades continue in various districts
throughout the month, with brass band, steel drum and roadmarch tunes.
On the evening before Lent,
Carnival
Carnival ends with the symbolic burning of
King Momo.[citation needed]
Bahamas[edit]
Junkanoo
Junkanoo is the principal street parade in the Bahamas, it has been
practiced in the
Bahamas
Bahamas before and after the 1834 emancipation of
slavery in the British Empire.
In an effort to capitalize on Carnival's popularity, the Bahamas
announced the first
Bahamas
Bahamas
Junkanoo
Junkanoo
Carnival
Carnival to commence in May
2015.[36]
Barbados[edit]
Main article: Crop over
Carnival
Carnival is known as "Crop Over" and is Barbados's biggest festival.
Its early beginnings were on the sugar cane plantations during the
colonial period.
Crop Over
Crop Over began in 1688, and featured singing,
dancing, and accompaniment by shak-shak, banjo, triangle, fiddle,
guitar, bottles filled with water, and bones. Other traditions
included climbing a greased pole, feasting, and drinking competitions.
Originally signaling the end of the yearly cane harvest, it evolved
into a national festival. In the late 20th century,
Crop Over
Crop Over began to
closely mirror the
Trinidad
Trinidad Carnival. Beginning in June, Crop Over
runs until the first Monday in August when it culminates in the
finale, the Grand Kadooment.[citation needed]
Carnival
Carnival time for many islanders is one big party. Craft markets, food
tents/stalls, street parties, and cavalcades fill every week.[citation
needed]
A major feature is the calypso competition. Calypso music, originating
in Trinidad, uses syncopated rhythm and topical lyrics. It offers a
medium in which to satirise local politics, amidst the general
bacchanal. Calypso tents, also originating in Trinidad, feature cadres
of musicians who perform biting social commentaries, political
exposés or rousing exhortations to "wuk dah waistline" and "roll dat
bumper". The groups compete for the
Calypso Monarch Award, while the
air is redolent with the smells of Bajan cooking during the Bridgetown
Market Street Fair. The Cohobblopot Festival blends dance, drama, and
music with the crowning of the King and Queen of costume bands. Every
evening the "Pic-o-de-Crop" Show is performed after the King of
Calypso is finally crowned. The climax of the festival is Kadooment
Day, celebrated with a national holiday, when costume bands fill the
streets with pulsating Barbadian rhythms and fireworks.[citation
needed]
Belize[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in Belize
San Pedro is one of Belize's few cities to observe Carnaval before
Lent. Elsewhere, Carnaval (sometimes referred to as Carnival) often
occurs in September. The Fiesta de Carnaval is often the most popular
celebration, usually held over three days prior to Ash Wednesday, but
the festivities often extend to the full week.[37] This festival
"always includes music, dancing, costumes and parades."[38]
Comparsas are held throughout the week, consisting of large groups "of
dancers dancing and traveling on the streets, followed by a Carrosa
(carriage) where the musicians play. The
Comparsa
Comparsa is a development of
African processions where groups of devotees follow a given saint or
deity during a particular religious celebration."[39] One of the most
popular comparsas of Fiesta de Carnaval is the male group comparsa,
usually composed of notable men from the community who dress up in
outlandish costumes or cross-dress and dance to compete for money and
prizes.[40] Other popular activities include body painting and flour
fighting.[41][42] "On the last day of
Carnival
Carnival painters flood the
street to paint each other. This simply means that a mixture of water
paint and water or raw eggs is used to paint people on the streets,
the goal being to paint as many people as you can."[40]
Street fights often occur during the festivities - some locals treat
this festival as an opportunity to exact revenge on their enemies.
Vandalism
Vandalism is common and "businesses constantly have to prepare in
covering or repainting their advertisements during
Carnival
Carnival season
because of the mischief performed."[43] The tradition continues
despite critics who advocate the termination of these festivities.[42]
Bolivia[edit]
Main article: Carnaval de Oruro
The Diablada, dance primeval, the typical and main dance of Carnaval
de Oruro, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity since 2001 in
Bolivia
Bolivia (Image: Fraternidad Artística y
Cultural "La Diablada")
La Diablada
Carnival
Carnival takes place in Oruro in central Bolivia. It is
celebrated in honor of the miners' patron saint, Vírgen de Socavon
(the Virgin of the Tunnels). Over 50 parade groups dance, sing, and
play music over a five kilometre-long course. Participants dress up as
demons, devils, angels, Incas, and Spanish conquistadors. Dances
include caporales and tinkus. The parade runs from morning until late
at night, 18 hours a day, for three days before Ash Wednesday. It was
declared the 2001 "Masterpieces of Oral Heritage and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.[44] Throughout the country,
celebrations are held involving traditional rhythms and water parties.
In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on the east side of the country, tropical
weather allows a Brazilian-type Carnival, with Comparsas dancing
traditional songs in matching uniforms.[citation needed]
Brazil[edit]
Main article: Brazilian Carnival
Recife
.jpg/500px-Montagem_Recife_(2).jpg)
Recife Carnival, in the capital city of the State of Pernambuco,
Recife
Carnival
Carnival circuit of the city of Salvador
The
Carnival
Carnival in
Brazil
Brazil is a major part of Brazilian culture. It is
sometimes referred to by Brazilians as the "Greatest Show on Earth".
The first true
Carnival
Carnival expression of this Brazilian festivity,
officially recognized by Brazilian historians, took place in Rio de
Janeiro, with the préstitos, very similar to a musical processions,
in 1641, when
John IV of Portugal
John IV of Portugal was crowned King and parties were
celebrated in public streets.[citation needed]
Rio de Janeiro[edit]
Main article: Rio Carnival
The street carnival of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is designated by Guinness World
Records as the largest carnival in the world, with approximately two
million people each day.[45]
Samba
Samba schools are large, social entities with thousands of members and
a theme for their song and parade each year. In Rio Carnival, samba
schools parade in the
Sambadrome
Sambadrome (sambódromo in Portuguese). Some of
the most famous include GRES Estação Primeira de Mangueira, GRES
Portela, GRES Imperatriz Leopoldinense, GRES Beija-Flor de Nilópolis,
GRES Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, and recently, Unidos da
Tijuca and GRES União da Ilha do Governador. Local tourists pay
$500–950, depending on the costume, to buy a samba costume and dance
in the parade. Blocos are small informal groups with a definite theme
in their samba, usually satirizing the political situation. About 30
schools in Rio gather hundreds of thousands of participants. More than
440 blocos operate in Rio. Bandas are samba musical bands, also called
"street carnival bands", usually formed within a single neighborhood
or musical background. The
Carnival
Carnival industry chain amassed in 2012
almost US$1 billion in revenues.[46]
Recife, Pernambuco[edit]
Main article:
Recife
Recife Carnival
Recife
Recife is marked by the parade of the largest carnival block in the
world, the Galo da Madrugada. This parade happens on the first
Saturday of
Carnival
Carnival (Saturday of Zé Pereira), passes through the
center of the city of
Recife
Recife and has, as symbol, a giant cock that is
positioned in the Duarte Coelho Bridge. In this block, there is a
great variety of musical rhythms, but the most present is Frevo
(characteristic rhythm of both
Recife
Recife and
Olinda
Olinda that was declared
Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Unesco).[citation needed]
Salvador, Bahia[edit]
Main article: Bahian Carnival
Salvador has large
Carnival
Carnival celebrations, including the Axé, a
typical Bahia music. A truck with giant speakers and a platform, where
musicians play songs of local genres such as Axé, samba-reggae, and
Arrocha, drives through town with a crowd following while dancing and
singing. It was originally staged by two Salvador musicians, Dodo
& Osmar, in the 1950s. After the Salvador Carnival, Porto Seguro
continues the celebration.[citation needed]
Three circuits make up the festival. Campo Grande is the longest and
most traditional. Barra-Ondina is the most famous, on the seaside of
Barra Beach and Ondina Beach and Pelourinho.[47]
International singers like David Guetta, will.i.am, Psy, and Bob
Sinclar have performed in Salvador.[48] Ivete Sangalo, Claudia Leitte,
Daniela Mercury, Margareth Menezes, Chiclete com Banana, and Banda Eva
are some traditional attractions. The party officially takes six days,
but can continue for more than that.[49]
Canada[edit]
Caribana, held in
Toronto
Toronto on the first weekend of August, has its
origins in
Caribbean
Caribbean
Carnival
Carnival traditions. To take advantage of more
comfortable weather,
Caribana
Caribana is held in the summer.[50] Attendance at
the parade typically exceeds one million.[citation needed]
The
Quebec Winter Carnival
Quebec Winter Carnival is the biggest winter-themed
Carnival
Carnival in
the world.[citation needed] It depends on snowfall and very cold
weather, to keep snowy ski trails in good condition and ice sculptures
frozen. The carnival is held during the last days of January and first
days of February.[citation needed]
In the Ottawa-
Gatineau
.JPG/500px-Gatineau_(view_from_the_Peace_Tower_of_Parliament_Centre_Block).JPG)
Gatineau region,
Winterlude
Winterlude takes place during
February.[citation needed]
Caribbean[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in the Caribbean
Most
Caribbean
Caribbean islands celebrate Carnival. The largest and most
well-known is in
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago. Antigua, Aruba, Barbados,
Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saba, Sint Eustatius
(Statia), Sint Maarten, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts, Saint Thomas, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Saint Vincent, and the
Grenadines
Grenadines hold lengthy
carnival seasons and large celebrations.[citation needed]
Carnival
Carnival is an important cultural event in the Dutch Caribbean.
Festivities include "jump-up" parades with beautifully colored
costumes, floats, and live bands, as well as beauty contests and other
competitions. Celebrations include a middle-of-the-night j'ouvert
(juvé) parade that ends at sunrise with the burning of a straw King
Momo, cleansing sins and bad luck. On Statia, he is called Prince
Stupid.[citation needed]
Carnival
Carnival has been celebrated in
Cuba
Cuba since the 18th century.
Participants don costumes from the island's cultural and ethnic
variety. After Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution, Carnival's
religious overtones were suppressed. The events remained, albeit
frowned upon by the state.
Carnival
Carnival celebrations have been in decline
throughout
Cuba
Cuba since then.[citation needed]
Colombia[edit]
The
Blacks and Whites' Carnival
Blacks and Whites' Carnival in Pasto
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in Colombia
Carnival
Carnival was introduced by the Spaniards and incorporated elements
from European cultures. It has managed to reinterpret traditions that
belonged to Colombia's African and
Amerindian
Amerindian cultures. Documentary
evidence shows that
Carnival
Carnival existed in Colombia in the 18th century
and had already been a cause for concern for colonial authorities, who
censored the celebrations, especially in the main political centres
such as Cartagena, Bogotá, and Popayán.[citation needed]
The
Carnival
Carnival continued its evolution in small/unimportant towns out of
view of the rulers. The result was the uninterrupted celebration of
Carnival
Carnival festivals in
Barranquilla
Barranquilla (see Barranquilla's Carnival), now
recognized as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity. The
Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Carnival
Carnival includes several
parades on Friday and Saturday nights beginning on 11 January and
ending with a six-day non-stop festival, beginning the Wednesday prior
to
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday and ending Tuesday midnight. Other celebrations occur
in villages along the lower
Magdalena River
Magdalena River in northern Colombia, and
in
Pasto
Pasto and
Nariño
Nariño (see Blacks and Whites' Carnival) in the south of
the country. In the early 20th century, attempts to introduce Carnival
in
Bogotá
Bogotá were rejected by the government. The
Bogotá
Bogotá
Carnival
Carnival was
renewed in the 21st century.[citation needed]
Dominica[edit]
A Dominican
Carnival
Carnival costume band
Main article: Chanté mas
Carnival
Carnival in
Dominica
Dominica is held in the capital city of Roseau, and takes
elements of
Carnival
Carnival that can be seen in the neighbouring French
islands of
Martinique
Martinique and Guadeloupe, as well as Trinidad. Notable
events leading up to
Carnival
Carnival include the Opening of Carnival
celebrations, the
Calypso Monarch music competition, the Queen of
Carnival
Carnival Beauty Pageant, and bouyon music bands. Celebrations last for
the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.[citation needed]
Dominican Republic[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in the Dominican Republic
Dominican
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated in most cities and towns in the main
streets during February. Among its main characteristics are its flashy
costumes and loud music. The one held in La Vega, which is one of the
biggest in the country, and the national parade in
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo were
where the first
Carnival
Carnival of the Americas was held.[citation needed]
Carvnival masks are elaborate and colorful. The costumes used on the
parades are satires of the Devil and are called "Diablos Cojuelos".
They dance, and run to the rhythm of merengue music mixed with techno,
hip-hop, and reggaeton. Additional allegorical characters represent
Dominican traditions such as "Roba la Gallina" and "Califé".[citation
needed]
One of the most international parades is in San Pedro de Macorís. It
exhibits the "Guloyas" parade of costumed groups dancing in the
streets. Revelers flee from the "Diablos Cojuelos" who try to hit them
with "Vejigas".[citation needed]
The timing of the festivals has grown apart from its original
religious synchronization with the period of Lent. With National
Independence Day on 27 February and the birthday of Juan Pablo Duarte,
its founding father, on 26 January, the
Carnival
Carnival celebrations fill
February regardless of the Lenten calendar.[citation needed]
Ecuador[edit]
Carnival
Carnival parade in
Latacunga
Latacunga city.
Party
Party in
Latacunga
Latacunga city.
In Ecuador, the celebrations began before the arrival of Catholicism.
The Huarangas Indians (from the Chimbos nation) used to celebrate the
second moon of the year with a festival at which they threw flour,
flowers, and perfumed water. This indigenous tradition merged with the
Catholic
Catholic celebration of Carnival.[citation needed]
A common feature of Ecuadorian
Carnival
Carnival is the diablitos (little
devils) who play with water. As with snowball fights, the practice of
throwing or dumping water on unsuspecting victims is revered by
children and teenagers although feared by some adults. Throwing water
balloons, sometimes even eggs and flour both to friends and strangers
is fun, but can also upset the uninformed.[citation needed]
Although the government as well as school authorities forbid such
games, they are widely practiced. Historians tell of a bishop in 1867
who threatened excommunication for the sin of playing Carnival
games.[citation needed]
Festivals differ across the country. Locals wear disguises with
colorful masks and dance. Usually, the celebrations begin with the
election of Taita
Carnival
Carnival (Father Carnival) who heads the festivities
and leads the parades in each city.[citation needed]
The most famed
Carnival
Carnival festivities are in
Guaranda
.jpg/500px-Guaranda_(284885979).jpg)
Guaranda (Bolivar province)
and Ambato (Tungurahua province). In Ambato, the festivities are
called Fiesta de las Flores y las Frutas (Festival of the Flowers and
Fruits). Other cities have revived
Carnival
Carnival traditions with colorful
parades, such as in
Azogues
Azogues (Cañar Province). In
Azogues
Azogues and the
Southern
Andes
Andes in general, Taita
Carnival
Carnival is always an indigenous
Cañari. Recently, a celebration has gained prominence in the northern
part of the
Andes
Andes in the
Chota Valley
Chota Valley in Imbabura which is a zone of a
strong
Afro-Ecuadorian
Afro-Ecuadorian population and so the
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated
with bomba del chota music.[citation needed]
Latacunga
Latacunga celebrates
Carnival
Carnival in three manners:[51]
Carnival
Carnival with
water where people play with water, religious
Carnival
Carnival where people
make religious festivity, and
Carnival
Carnival parade in the city in which
people march on the
Latacunga
Latacunga streets wearing masks while they dance
with music bands.[citation needed]
French Guiana[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in French Guiana
The
Carnival
Carnival of
French Guiana
French Guiana has roots in Creole culture. Everyone
participates – mainland French, Brazilians (Guiana has a frontier
with Brazil), and Chinese as well as Creoles.[citation needed]
Its duration is variable, determined by movable religious festivals:
Carnival
Carnival begins at Epiphany and ends on Ash Wednesday, and so
typically lasts through most of January and February. During this
period, from Friday evening until Monday morning the entire country
throbs to the rhythm of masked balls and street parades.[citation
needed]
Friday afternoons are for eating galette des rois (the cake of kings)
and drinking champagne. The cake may be flavoured with frangipani,
guava, or coconut.[citation needed]
On Sunday afternoons, major parades fill the streets of Cayenne,
Kourou, and Saint-Laurent du Maroni. Competing groups prepare for
months. Dressed to follow the year's agreed theme, they march with
Carnival
Carnival floats, drums, and brass bands.[citation needed]
Brazilian groups are appreciated for their elaborate feathered and
sequined costumes. However, they are not eligible for competition
since the costumes do not change over time.[citation needed]
Mythical characters appear regularly in the parades:[citation needed]
Karolin − a small person dressed in a magpie tail and top hat,
riding on a shrew.
Les Nèg'marrons − groups of men dressed in red loincloths, bearing
ripe tomatoes in their mouths while their bodies are smeared with
grease or molasses. They deliberately try to come in contact with
spectators, soiling their clothes.
Les makoumés − cross-dressing men (out of the
Carnival
Carnival context,
makoumé is a pejorative term for a homosexual).
Soussouris (the bat) − a character dressed in a winged leotard from
head to foot, usually black in colour. Traditionally malevolent, this
character is liable to chase spectators and "sting" them.
Four touloulous
A uniquely Creole tradition are the touloulous. These women wear
decorative gowns, gloves, masks, and headdresses that cover them
completely, making them unrecognisable, even to the colour of their
skin. On Friday and Saturday nights of Carnival, touloulou balls are
held in so-called "universities", large dance halls that open only at
Carnival
Carnival time. Touloulous get in free, and are even given condoms in
the interest of the sexual health of the community. Men attend the
balls, but they pay admittance and are not disguised. The touloulous
pick their dance partners, who may not refuse. The setup is designed
to make it easy for a woman to create a temporary liaison with a man
in total anonymity. Undisguised women are not welcomed. By tradition,
if such a woman gets up to dance, the orchestra stops playing. Alcohol
is served at bars – the disguised women whisper to the men
"touloulou thirsty", at which a round of drinks is expected, to be
drunk through a straw protect their anonymity.[citation needed]
In more modern times, Guyanais men have attempted to turn the tables
by staging soirées tololo, in which it's the men who, in disguise,
seek partners from undisguised women bystanders.[citation needed]
The final four days of
Carnival
Carnival follow a rigid schedule, and no work
is done:[citation needed]
Sunday − The Grand Parade, in which the groups compete.
Monday − Marriage burlesque, with men dressed as brides and women as
grooms.
Tuesday − Red Devil Day in which everyone wears red or black.
(Ash) Wednesday − Dress is black and white only, for the grand
ceremony of burning the effigy of Vaval, King Carnival.
Guatemala[edit]
The most famous
Carnival
Carnival celebration in
Guatemala
Guatemala is in Mazatenango.
During February,
Mazatenango
Mazatenango is famous for its eight-day Carnival
Feast. Days of food, music, parades, and games fill the streets of the
department of Suchitepéquez. As one Guatemalan website states, "To
mention the
Carnival
Carnival of
Mazatenango
Mazatenango is to bring to mind moments of a
happy and cordial party. In the eight days of this celebration's
duration, the local residents have kept alive the traditions of the
Department."[citation needed]
Haiti[edit]
Main article: Haitian Carnival
Carnival
Carnival in
Haiti
Haiti started in 1804 in the capital
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince after
the declaration of independence. The
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Carnival
Carnival is one of
the largest in North America. It is known as Kanaval in the Creole
language. It starts in January, known as "Pre-Kanaval", while the main
carnival activities begin in February. In July 2012,
Haiti
Haiti had another
carnival called Kanaval de Fleur. Beautiful costumes, floats, Rara
parades,[52] masks, foods, and popular rasin music (such as Boukman
Eksperyans, Foula Vodoule, Tokay, Boukan Ginen, and Eritaj) and kompa
bands (such as T-Vice, Djakout No. 1, Sweet Micky, Kreyòl La,
D.P. Express, Mizik Mizik, Ram, T-Micky, Carimi, Djakout Mizik, and
Scorpio Fever) play for dancers in the streets of the plaza of
Champ-de-Mars. An annual song competition takes place.[citation
needed]
Other places in
Haiti
Haiti celebrate carnival, including
Jacmel
Jacmel and Aux
Cayes. In 2013, Kanaval was celebrated in Okap
(Cap-Haïtien).[citation needed]
Carnival
Carnival finishes on Ash Wednesday, followed by rara, another parading
musical tradition known mainly in
Haiti
Haiti and in the Dominican Republic.
This festival emphasises religion. Songs are composed each year, and
bands play bamboo tubes (vaksin) and homemade horns (konèt).
Rara
Rara is
also performed in Prospect and
Central Park
Central Park in summertime New
York.[53]
Honduras[edit]
In
La Ceiba
La Ceiba in Honduras,
Carnival
Carnival is held on the fourth Saturday of
every May to commemorate San Isidro. It is the largest Carnival
celebration in Central America.[citation needed]
Mexico[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in Mexico
In Mexico,
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated in about 225 cities and towns. The
largest is in
Mazatlán
Mazatlán and the city of Veracruz, with others in Baja
California and Yucatán. The larger city Carnivals employ costumes,
elected queens, and parades with floats, but
Carnival
Carnival celebrations in
smaller and rural areas vary widely depending on the level of European
influence during Mexico's colonial period. The largest of these is in
Huejotzingo, Puebla, where most townspeople take part in mock combat
with rifles shooting blanks, roughly based on the Battle of Puebla.
Other important states with local traditions include Morelos, Oaxaca,
Tlaxcala, and Chiapas.[citation needed] Carnavel of Campeche is over
400 years old.
Nicaragua[edit]
On the
Caribbean
Caribbean coast of Bluefields, Nicaragua,
Carnival
Carnival is better
known as "Palo de Mayo" (or Mayo Ya!) and is celebrated every day of
May.[54]
In Managua, it is celebrated for two days. There it is named Alegria
por la vida ("Joy for Life") and features a different theme each year.
Another festival in
Managua
Managua celebrates patron saint Domingo de Guzman
and lasts ten days.[55]
Panama[edit]
Traditionally beginning on Friday and ending on the Tuesday before Ash
Wednesday, "los Carnavales", as Panamanians refer to the days of
Carnival, are celebrated across the country.
Carnival
Carnival Week is
especially popular because of the opulent Las Tablas
Carnival
Carnival as well
as the
Carnival
Carnival celebrations in
Panama
Panama City and almost all of the
Azuero Peninsula. The Panamanian
Carnival
Carnival is also popular because of
the concerts in the most visited areas.[56]
Peru[edit]
Morenada dance, in the
Carnival
Carnival of
Juliaca
Juliaca – Peru
Cajamarca[edit]
The town of
Cajamarca
Cajamarca is considered the capital of
Carnival
Carnival in Peru.
Local residents of all ages dance around the unsha, or yunsa, a tree
adorned with ribbons, balloons, toys, fruits, bottles of liquor, and
other prizes.[citation needed]
At a certain point, the Mayordomo (governor of the feast) walks into
the circle. The governor chooses a partner to go to the unsha, which
they attempt to cut down by striking it three times with a machete.
The machete is passed from couple to couple as each strikes the tree
three times. When the unsha finally falls, the crowd rushes to grab
the prizes.[citation needed]
The person who successfully brings down the unsha becomes the
following year's governor.[citation needed]
Violence[edit]
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The Peruvian
Carnival
Carnival consists mostly of violent games that last all
February, extending to early March if
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday falls in March,
but rarely ending when it falls in February.[57] Quoting the Lima
police chief, "The
Carnival
Carnival is associated with criminal actions."[58]
It has had major consequences.[59]
Peruvian
Carnival
Carnival incorporates elements of violence and reflects the
urban violence in Peruvian society following the internal conflict in
Peru. Traditionally, Peruvian Andean festivities were held on this
period every year because it is the rainy season. It was already
violent during the 19th century,[60] but the government limited the
practice. During the early 20th century, it consisted of partying and
parading, while in the second half of the 20th century it acquired
violent characteristics that continued. It was banned, first from the
streets in 1958 and altogether in 1959 by the Prado government.[57] It
consisted basically of water battles in a traditional
way,[clarification needed] while in later years, it included playing
with dirty water, mud, oil, and colorants -and also including fighting
and sometimes looting private property and sexual assaults on women.
It has become an excuse for criminal gangs to rob people while
pretending to celebrate. As of 2010, it had become so violent that the
government imposed penalties of up to eight years in prison[61] for
violence during the games. (The games themselves are not forbidden,
but using violence during the games or coercing others to participate
is.)[62][63][64][65]
At the end of the
Carnival
Carnival season, in the inner Peruvian towns (and
lately in the major cities too), it is customary to cut a tree, called
"yunsa" in the mountains and "humisha" in the jungle.[66][citation
needed]
Puerto Rico[edit]
Main article: Carnaval de Ponce
Puerto Rico's most popular festivals are the Carnaval de Loiza and
Carnaval de Ponce. The
Carnaval de Ponce
Carnaval de Ponce (officially "Carnaval
Ponceño") is celebrated annually celebration in Ponce. The
celebration lasts one week and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday.
It is one of the oldest carnivals of the Western Hemisphere, dating to
1858.[67] Some authorities trace the Ponce Carnaval to the eighteenth
century.[68][69]
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago[edit]
Masqueraders chipping on
Carnival
Carnival Tuesday in
Port of Spain
Port of Spain during
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
Main article:
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
In
Trinidad
Trinidad & Tobago,
Carnival
Carnival lasts months and culminates in
large celebrations on the three days before
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday with
Dimanche Gras, J'ouvert, and Mas (masquerade). Tobago's celebration
culminates on Monday and Tuesday on a much smaller scale. Carnival
combines costumes, dance, music, competitions, rum, and partying
(fete-ing). Music styles include soca, calypso, rapso, and more
recently Chutney soca.[citation needed]
The annual
Carnival
Carnival steel pan competition known as the National
Panorama competition holds the finals on the Saturday before the main
event. Pan players compete in categories such as "Conventional Steel
Band" or "Single Pan Band" by performing renditions of the year's
calypsos.[citation needed]
"Dimanche Gras" takes place on the Sunday night before Ash Wednesday.
Here the
Calypso Monarch is chosen (after competition) and prize money
and a vehicle awarded. The King and Queen of the bands are crowned,
where each band parades costumes for two days and submits a king and
queen, from which an overall winner is chosen. These usually involve
huge, complex, beautiful well-crafted costumes, that includes
'wire-bending'.[citation needed]
J'ouvert, or "Dirty Mas", takes place before dawn on the Monday (known
as
Carnival
Carnival Monday) before Ash Wednesday. It means "opening of the
day". Revelers dress in costumes embodying puns on current affairs,
especially political and social events. "Clean Mud" (clay mud), oil
paint and body paint are familiar during J'ouvert. A common character
is "Jab-jabs" (devils, blue, black, or red) complete with pitchfork,
pointed horns and tails. A King and Queen of
J'ouvert
J'ouvert are chosen,
based on their witty political/social messages.[citation needed]
The
Carnival
Carnival King costume for a particular band
Carnival
Carnival Monday involves the parade of the mas bands. Revelers wear
only parts of their costumes, more for fun than display or
competition. Monday Night Mas is popular in most towns and especially
the capital, where smaller bands compete. There is also the "Bomb
Competition", a smaller-scaled judging of steel bands.[70][citation
needed]
Carnival
Carnival Tuesday hosts the main events. Full costume is worn, complete
with make-up and body paint/adornment. Usually "Mas Boots" that
complement the costumes are worn. Each band has their costume
presentation based on a particular theme, and contains various
sections (some consisting of thousands of revelers) that reflect these
themes. The street parade and band costume competition take place. The
mas bands eventually converge on the Queen's Park Savannah to pass on
"The Stage" for judging. The singer of the most played song is crowned
Road March King or Queen, earning prize money and usually a
vehicle.[citation needed]
This parading and revelry goes on until Tuesday midnight. Ash
Wednesday itself, while not an official holiday, sends flocks to local
beaches. The most popular are
Maracas Beach and Manzanilla Beach,
where huge beach parties take place on Ash Wednesday.[citation needed]
United States[edit]
Main articles:
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in the United States;
New Orleans
New Orleans Mardi
Gras;
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama; and Courir de Mardi Gras
Revelers on Frenchmen Street, New Orleans, 2006
The most widely known, elaborate, and popular US events are in New
Orleans where
Carnival
Carnival season is referred to as Mardi Gras. Krewes
organize parades, balls, and other activities. Most
Louisiana
Louisiana cities
such as Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Mamou,
Houma, and Thibodaux, most of which were under French control at one
time or another, also hold
Carnival
Carnival celebrations.[citation needed] On
the prairie country northwest of
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana the Cajuns
celebrate the traditional Courir de Mardi Gras, which has its roots in
celebrations from rural Medieval France.[71]
Carnival
Carnival celebrations, usually referred to as
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras ("Fat
Tuesday" in French), were first celebrated in the Gulf Coast area, but
now occur in many states. Customs originated in the onetime French
colonial capitals of Mobile (now in Alabama),
New Orleans
New Orleans (Louisiana),
and Biloxi (Mississippi), all of which have celebrated for many years
with street parades and masked balls. Other major American cities with
celebrations include Washington, D.C.; St. Louis; San Francisco; San
Diego; Galveston, Texas; and Miami, Pensacola, Tampa, and Orlando in
Florida.[citation needed]
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated in New York City in Brooklyn. As in the UK, the
timing of
Carnival
Carnival split from the Christian calendar and is celebrated
on
Labor Day
Labor Day Monday, in September. It is called the Labor Day
Carnival,
West Indian Day Parade, or
West Indian Day Carnival, and was
founded by immigrants from Trinidad. That country has one of the
largest
Caribbean
Caribbean Carnivals. In the mid twentieth century, West
Indians moved the event from the beginning of
Lent
Lent to the Labor Day
weekend.
Carnival
Carnival is one of the largest parades and street festivals
in New York, with over one million attending. The parade, which
consists of steel bands, floats, elaborate
Carnival
Carnival costumes, and
sound trucks, proceeds along Brooklyn's
Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway in the Crown
Heights neighborhood.[citation needed]
Starting in 2013, the Slovenian-American community located in the St.
Clair-Superior neighborhood of
Cleveland
Cleveland began hosting a local version
of Kurentovanje, the
Carnival
Carnival event held in the city of Ptuj,
Slovenia.[72] The event is conducted on the Saturday prior to Ash
Wednesday.[citation needed]
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras celebrations are spreading to other regions, such as the
Mississippi
Mississippi Valley region of St. Louis, Missouri;
Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida in
Universal Studios and in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego.[citation
needed]
Uruguay[edit]
Afro-Uruguayans gathering for a
Candombe
Candombe celebration, ca. 1870
The
Carnival
Carnival in Uruguay lasts more than 40 days, generally beginning
towards the end of January and running through mid March. Celebrations
in
Montevideo
Montevideo are the largest. The festival is performed in the
European parade style with elements from Bantu and Angolan Benguela
cultures imported with slaves in colonial times. The main attractions
of
Uruguayan Carnival
Uruguayan Carnival include two colorful parades called Desfile de
Carnaval (
Carnival
Carnival Parade) and Desfile de Llamadas (Calls Parade, a
candombe-summoning parade).[73]
During the celebration, theaters called tablados are built in many
places throughout the cities, especially in Montevideo. Traditionally
formed by men and now starting to be open to women, the different
Carnival
Carnival groups (Murgas, Lubolos, or Parodistas) perform a kind of
popular opera at the tablados, singing and dancing songs that
generally relate to the social and political situation. The 'Calls'
groups, basically formed by drummers playing the tamboril, perform
candombe rhythmic figures. The carnival in Uruguay have escolas de
samba too, and the biggest samba parades are in
Artigas
Artigas and in
Montevideo. Revelers wear their festival clothing. Each group has its
own theme. Women wearing elegant, bright dresses are called vedettes
and provide a sensual touch to parades.[citation needed]
European archetypes (Pierrot, Harlequin, and Columbina) merge with
African ancestral elements (the Old Mother or Mama Vieja, the Medicine
Man or Gramillero and the Magician or Escobero) in the
festival.[citation needed]
Venezuela[edit]
Carnival
Carnival in
Venezuela
Venezuela covers two days, 40 days before Easter. It is a
time when youth in many rural towns have water fights (including the
use of water balloons and water guns). Any pedestrian risks a soaking.
Coastal towns and provinces celebrate
Carnival
Carnival more fervently than
elsewhere in the country. Venezuelans regard
Carnival
Carnival about the same
way they regard
Christmas
Christmas and Semana Santa (Holy Week; the week before
Easter
Easter Sunday) when they take the opportunity to visit their
families.[74]
Asia[edit]
India[edit]
Goan Christians participating at the Goan Carnival, late 20th century
Revellers at the modern Goan Carnival
In India,
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated only in the state of
Goa
Goa and a Roman
Catholic
Catholic tradition, where it is known as Intruz which means "swindler"
while Entrudo is the appropriate word in Portuguese for "Carnival".
The largest celebration takes place in the city of Panjim, which was
part of Velha Conquista in Goa, but now is celebrated throughout the
state. The tradition was introduced by the Portuguese who ruled Goa
for over four centuries. On Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, the
European tradition of
Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is celebrated with the eating of
crepes, also called "AleBelle". The crepes are filled with freshly
grated coconut and heated condensed coconut sap that sequentially
converts it into a brown sweet molasses; additional heat concentration
solidifies it to jaggery. The celebrations of
Carnival
Carnival peak for three
days and nights and precede Ash Wednesday, when the legendary King
Momo takes over the state. All-night parades occur throughout the
state with bands, dances, and floats. Grand balls are held in the
evenings.[75]
Although
Portugal
Portugal introduced Christianity and the customs related to
Catholic
Catholic practice in India and Brazil, the celebrations in
Goa
Goa like
Portugal
Portugal have begun to adopt some aspects of Brazilian-style Carnival
celebrations, in particular those of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro with sumptuous
parades, samba and other musical elements.[citation needed]
Indonesia[edit]
In Indonesia, the word "carnival" or karnaval is not related to
pre-
Lent
Lent festivities, but more to festivals in general, especially
those with processions and extravagant costumes. One of the largest
carnivals in
Indonesia
Indonesia is the Solo Batik Carnival, held in Solo,
Central Java. The
Jember
Jember Fashion Carnaval is held in Jember, East
Java.[76]
The Roman
Catholic
Catholic community of Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, held an
Easter
Easter procession in form of an
Easter
Easter
Carnival
Carnival called Pawai Paskah
Kupang.[77]
Israel[edit]
Main article: Adloyada
Turkey[edit]
Main article: Baklahorani
For almost five centuries, local Greek communities throughout Istanbul
celebrated
Carnival
Carnival with weeks of bawdy parades, lavish balls, and
street parties. This continued for weeks before Lent.
Baklahorani
Baklahorani took
place on Shrove Monday, the last day of the carnival season. The event
was led by the
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox community, but the celebrations were
public and inter-communal. The final celebration was sited in the
Kurtuluş
Kurtuluş district.[78] In 2010, the festival was revived.[79]
Europe[edit]
Long-Né and Longuès-Brèsses (Malmedy)
Giant Joker of
Maaseik
Maaseik in 2013
Venetian
Mask
Mask 2016
Belgium[edit]
Many parts of
Belgium
.jpg/440px-Belgium-6015_-_Most_Photographed_Dog_in_Burges_(13902076955).jpg)
Belgium celebrate Carnival, typically with costume
parades, partying and fireworks. These areas include Aalst, Binche,
Eupen, Halle, Heist, Kelmis, Maaseik, Malmedy, and Stavelot.[citation
needed]
The
Carnival
Carnival of
Binche
Binche dates at least to the 14th century. Parades are
held over the three days before Lent; the most important participants
are the Gilles, who wear traditional costumes on
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday and
throw blood oranges to the crowd.[80] In 2003, the
Carnival
Carnival of Binche
was recognised as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity.[81] The
Carnival
Carnival of Aalst, celebrated during the
three days preceding Ash Wednesday, received the same recognition in
2010.[82]
The
Carnival
Carnival of
Malmedy
Malmedy is locally called Cwarmê. Even if
Malmedy
Malmedy is
located in the east Belgium, near the German-speaking area, the
Cwarmê is a pure Walloon and
Latin
Latin carnival. The celebration takes
place during the four days before Shrove Tuesday. The Cwarmê Sunday
is the most important and insteresting to see. All the old traditional
costumes parade in the street. The Cwarmê is a "street carnival" and
is not only a parade. People who are disguised pass through the crowd
and perform a part of the traditional costume they wear. The famous
traditional costumes at the Cwarmê of
Malmedy
Malmedy are the Haguète, the
Longuès-Brèsses, and the Long-Né[83].
Some Belgian cities hold Carnivals during Lent. One of the best-known
is Stavelot, where the
Carnival
Carnival de la Laetare takes place on Laetare
Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. The participants include the
Blancs-Moussis, who dress in white, carry long red noses and parade
through town attacking bystanders with confetti and dried pig
bladders. The town of Halle also celebrates on Laetare Sunday.
Belgium's oldest parade is the
Carnival
Carnival
Parade
.jpg/440px-Dora_The_Explorer_(2056486897).jpg)
Parade of Maaseik, also held
on Laetare Sunday, which originated in 1865.[citation needed]
Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croat-majority city of
Ljubuški
Ljubuški holds
a traditional
Carnival
Carnival (Bosnian: Karneval).
Ljubuški
Ljubuški is a member of
the
Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC).[citation needed]
Croatia[edit]
The most famous Croatian
Carnival
Carnival (Croatian: karneval, also called
maškare or fašnik) is the
Rijeka
Rijeka Carnival, during which the mayor of
Rijeka
Rijeka hands over the keys to the city to the
Carnival
Carnival master (meštar
od karnevala). The festival includes several events, culminating on
the final Sunday in a masked procession. (A similar procession for
children takes place on the previous weekend.)[citation needed]
Main square in
Rijeka
Rijeka during Carnival
Many towns in Croatia's
Kvarner
Kvarner region (and in other parts of the
country) observe the
Carnival
Carnival period, incorporating local traditions
and celebrating local culture. Some of the towns and places are
Grobnik, Permani, Kastav and many others places near Rijeka. Just
before the end of Carnival, every
Kvarner
Kvarner town burns a man-like doll
called a "Pust", who is blamed for all the strife of the previous
year. The Zvončari, or bell-ringers push away winter and all the bad
things in the past year and calling spring, they wear bells and large
head regalia representing their areas of origin (for example, those
from Halubje wear regalia in the shape of animal heads). The
traditional
Carnival
Carnival food is fritule, a pastry. This festival can also
be called Poklade.[citation needed]
"Coprnice" (Witches) from Međimurje County, Northern Croatia
Masks are worn to many of the festivities, including concerts and
parties. Children and teachers are commonly allowed to wear masks to
school for a day, and also wear masks at school dances or while
trick-or-treating. Carnivals also take place in summer. One of the
most famous is the Senj Summer
Carnival
Carnival – first celebrated in 1968.
The towns of Cres, Pag, Novi Vinodolski, and Fužine also organise
Summer Carnivals.[citation needed]
Cyprus[edit]
Carnival
Carnival has been celebrated in
Cyprus
Cyprus for centuries. The tradition
was likely established under Venetian rule around the 16th century. It
may have been influenced by Greek traditions, such as festivities for
deities such as Dionysus. The celebration originally involved dressing
in costumes and holding masked balls or visiting friends. In the
twentieth century, it became an organized event held during the 10
days preceding
Lent
Lent (according to the
Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox calendar). The
festival is celebrated almost exclusively in the city of
Limassol.[citation needed]
Three main parades take place during Carnival. The first is held on
the first day, during which the "
Carnival
Carnival King" (either a person in
costume or an effigy) rides through the city on his carriage. The
second is held on the first Sunday of the festival, and the
participants are mainly children. The third and largest takes place on
the last day of
Carnival
Carnival and involves hundreds of people walking in
costume along the town's longest avenue. The latter two parades are
open to anyone who wishes to participate.[citation needed]
Czech Republic[edit]
See also: Slavic carnival
Masopust masks in Czech Republic, 2013
In the Czech Republic, the Masopust Festival takes place from Epiphany
(Den tří králů) through
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday (Popeleční středa). The
word masopust translates literally from old Czech to mean "meat fast",
and the festival often includes a pork feast. The tradition is most
common in
Moravia
Moravia but also occurs in Bohemia. While practices vary,
masks and costumes are present everywhere.[citation needed]
Denmark
Denmark and Norway[edit]
Main article: Fastelavn
Carnival
Carnival in
Denmark
Denmark is called Fastelavn, and is held on the Sunday or
Monday before Ash Wednesday. The holiday is sometimes described as a
Nordic Halloween, with children dressing in costume and gathering
treats for the
Fastelavn
Fastelavn feast. One popular custom is the
fastelavnsris, a switch that children use to flog their parents to
wake them up on Fastelavns Sunday.[citation needed]
In Norway, students having seen celebrations in Paris introduced
Carnival
Carnival processions, masked balls, and
Carnival
Carnival balls to Christiana
in the 1840s and 1850s. From 1863, the artist federation
Kunstnerforeningen held annual
Carnival
Carnival balls in the old Freemasons
lodge, which inspired Johan Svendsen's compositions Norsk
Kunstnerkarneval and Karneval in Paris. The following year, Svendsen's
Festpolonaise was written for the opening procession. Edvard Grieg
attended and wrote "Aus dem Karneval" (Folkelivsbilleder Op. 19).
Since 1988, the student organization Tårnseilerne has produced annual
masquerade balls in Oslo, with masks, costumes, and processions after
attending an opera performance. The
Carnival
Carnival season also includes
Fastelavens søndag (with cream buns) and fastelavensris with
decorated branches.[citation needed]
England[edit]
Main article: Shrove Tuesday
In England, the season immediately before
Lent
Lent was called Shrovetide.
A time for confessing sins ("shriving"), it had fewer festivities than
the Continental Carnivals. Today,
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as
Pancake Day, but little else of the Lent-related
Shrovetide survived
the 16th-century English Reformation. The
Shrovetide
Carnival
Carnival in the
United Kingdom is celebrated in
Cowes
Cowes and East
Cowes
Cowes on the Isle of
Wight. Since 2012 Hastings, East Sussex has celebrated with its own
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Five days of music and street events
culminating with a Grand Ball on
Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday itself. Loosely based on
the
New Orleans
New Orleans style of carnival, Hastings has taken its own
course.[citation needed]
France[edit]
Some major Carnivals of mainland
France
France are the
Nice
Nice Carnival, the
Dunkirk
Dunkirk
Carnival
Carnival and the
Limoux
Limoux Carnival. The
Nice Carnival
Nice Carnival was held
as far back as 1294, and annually attracts over a million visitors
during the two weeks preceding Lent.[citation needed]
Since 1604, a characteristic masked
Carnival
Carnival is celebrated in
Limoux.[citation needed]
The
Dunkirk
Dunkirk
Carnival
Carnival is among the greatest and most exuberant
carnivals celebrated in Europe. Its traditions date back to the 17th
century and are based on the vischerbende as fishermen went from one
café to another accompanied by their relatives and friends just
before departing to Icelandic fishing grounds.[citation needed]
In the French West Indies, it occurs between the Sunday of Epiphany
and Ash Wednesday;[84] this dates back to the arrival of French
colonists in the islands.[citation needed]
Germany, Switzerland, and Austria[edit]
Main articles: Karneval in
Germany
Germany and
Austria
Austria and Fastnacht or
Fasnacht in Germany, Switzerland,
Alsace
Alsace and Austria
Germany[edit]
The earliest written record of
Carnival
Carnival in
Germany
Germany was in 1296 in
Speyer.[85] The first worldwide
Carnival
Carnival parade took place in Cologne
in 1823.[citation needed] The most active
Carnival
Carnival week begins on the
Thursday before Ash Wednesday, with parades during the weekend, and
finishes the night before Ash Wednesday, with the main festivities
occurring around Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). This time is also called
the "Fifth Season". Shrove Tuesday, called Fastnacht or
Veilchendienstag, is celebrated in some cities.
Parties feature self-made and more fanciful costumes and occasional
masks. The parties become more exuberant as the weeks progress and
peak after New Year, in January and February. The final Tuesday
features all-night parties, dancing, hugging, and smooching. Some
parties are for all, some for women only and some for children.
Kreppel, or donuts, are the traditional
Fasching
Fasching food and are baked or
fried.[citation needed]
In Germany, the Rheinische
Fasching
Fasching and the Schwäbische Fastnacht are
distinct.[citation needed]
"Rheinische"
Carnival
Carnival (Fasnacht, Fasnet, Fastabend, Fastelovend,
Fasteleer, Fasching)[edit]
The "Rheinische"
Carnival
Carnival is held in the west of Germany, mainly in
the states of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, but
also in
Hesse
Hesse (including Upper Hesse), Bavaria, and other states. Some
cities are more famous for celebrations such as parades and costume
balls. The
Cologne
Cologne Carnival, as well as those in
Mainz
Mainz and
Düsseldorf, are the largest and most famous. Other cities have their
own, often less well-known celebrations, parades, and parties, such as
Worms am Rhein, Speyer, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt, Darmstadt,
Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Munich, and Nuremberg. On
Carnival
Carnival Thursday (called "Old Women Day" or "The Women's Day" in
commemoration of an 1824 revolt by washer-women), women storm city
halls, cut men's ties, and are allowed to kiss any passing man.
Reitenderle, der Grundholde, Hudelmale, Schnarragagges; popular Fasnet
characters from
Kisslegg
Kisslegg im Allgäu, Swabia
The
Fasching
Fasching parades and floats make fun of individual politicians and
other public figures. Many speeches do the same.[citation needed]
"Swabian-Alemannic"
Carnival
Carnival (Schwäbische Fastnacht)[edit]
The "Swabian-Alemannic" Carnival, known as Schwäbische Fastnacht,
takes place in Baden, Swabia, the Allgäu, Alsace, and Vorarlberg
(western Austria). During the pagan era, it represented the time of
year when the reign of the grim winter spirits is over, and these
spirits are hunted and expelled. It then adapted to Catholicism. The
first official record of Karneval,
Fasching
Fasching or Fastnacht in Germany
dates to 1296.[citation needed]
Swiss Fasnacht[edit]
From the Monstercorso on Güdisdienstag's evening in
Lucerne
Lucerne (2009)
In Switzerland, Fasnacht takes place in the
Catholic
Catholic cantons of
Switzerland, e.g. in
Lucerne
Lucerne (Lozärner Fasnacht), but also in
Protestant
Protestant Basel. However, the Basler Fasnacht begins on the Monday
after Ash Wednesday. Both began in the Late Middle Ages. Smaller
Fasnacht festivities take place across German Switzerland, e.g. in
Bern and Olten, or in the eastern part (Zurich, St. Gallen,
Appenzell).[citation needed]
Greece[edit]
The float of the King
Carnival
Carnival parading in Patras, Greece
In Greece,
Carnival
Carnival is also known as the Apokriés (Greek:
Αποκριές, "saying goodbye to meat"), or the season of the
"Opening of the Triodion", so named after the liturgical book used by
the church from then until Holy Week. One of the season's high points
is Tsiknopempti, when celebrants enjoy roast beef dinners; the ritual
is repeated the following Sunday. The following week, the last before
Lent, is called Tyrinē (Greek: Τυρινή, "cheese [week]") because
meat is forbidden, although dairy products are not.
Lent
Lent begins on
"Clean Monday", the day after "Cheese Sunday". Throughout the Carnival
season, people disguise themselves as maskarádes ("masqueraders") and
engage in pranks and revelry.[citation needed]
Patras
Patras holds the largest annual
Carnival
Carnival in Greece; the famous Patras
Carnival
Carnival is a three-day spectacle replete with concerts, balles
masqués, parading troupes, a treasure hunt, and many events for
children. The grand parade of masked troupes and floats is held at
noon on Tyrine Sunday, and culminates in the ceremonial burning of the
effigy of King
Carnival
Carnival at the
Patras
Patras harbour.[citation needed]
Other regions host festivities of smaller extent, focused on the
reenactment of traditional carnevalic customs, such as Tyrnavos
(Thessaly),
Kozani
Kozani (Western Macedonia),
Rethymno
Rethymno (Crete), and in
Xanthi
Xanthi (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace).
Tyrnavos
Tyrnavos holds an annual
Phallus
Phallus festival, a traditional "phallkloric" event[86] in which
giant, gaudily painted effigies of phalluses made of papier-mâché
are paraded, and which women are asked to touch or kiss. Their reward
for so doing is a shot of the famous local tsipouro alcohol
spirit.[citation needed]
Every year, from 1 to 8 January, mostly in regions of Western
Macedonia,
Carnival
Carnival festivals erupt. The best known is the Kastorian
Carnival
Carnival or "Ragoutsaria" (Gr. "Ραγκουτσάρια")[87] [tags:
Kastoria, Kastorian Carnival, Ragoutsaria, Ραγκουτσαρια,
Καστοριά]. It takes place from 6 to 8 January with mass
participation serenaded by brass bands, pipises, and Macedonian and
grand casa drums. It is an ancient celebration of nature's rebirth
(festivals for
Dionysus
Dionysus (Dionysia) and Kronos (Saturnalia)), which
ends the third day in a dance in the medieval square Ntoltso where the
bands play at the same time.[citation needed]
Hungary[edit]
The
Busójárás
Busójárás in Hungary
In Mohács, Hungary, the
Busójárás
Busójárás is a celebration held at the end
of the
Carnival
Carnival season. It involves locals dressing in woolly
costumes, with scary masks and noise-makers. They perform a burial
ritual to symbolise the end of winter and spike doughnuts on weapons
to symbolise the defeat of the Ottomans.[citation needed]
Italy[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in Italy
This Venetian tradition is most famous for its distinctive masks.
The
Battle of the Oranges
Battle of the Oranges at the carnival of Ivrea
The most famous Carnivals of Italy are held in Venice, Viareggio, and
Ivrea.
The
Carnival
Carnival in
Venice
Venice was first recorded in 1268. Its subversive
nature is reflected in Italy's many laws over the centuries attempting
to restrict celebrations and the wearing of masks. Carnival
celebrations in
Venice
Venice were halted after the city fell under Austrian
control in 1798, but were revived in the late 20th century.[citation
needed]
The month-long
Carnival
Carnival of
Viareggio
Viareggio is characterized mainly by its
parade of floats and masks caricaturing popular figures. In 2001, the
town built a new "
Carnival
Carnival citadel" dedicated to
Carnival
Carnival preparations
and entertainment.[citation needed]
The
Carnival
Carnival of
Ivrea
Ivrea is famous for its "Battle of the Oranges" fought
with fruit between the people on foot and the troops of the tyrant on
carts, to remember the wars of the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
In the most part of the Archdiocese of Milan, the
Carnival
Carnival lasts four
more days, ending on the Saturday after Ash Wednesday, because of the
Ambrosian Rite.[citation needed]
Lithuania[edit]
Main article: Užgavėnės
Užgavėnės
Užgavėnės is a Lithuanian festival that takes place on Shrove
Tuesday. Its name in English means "the time before Lent". The
celebration corresponds to
Carnival
Carnival holiday traditions.[citation
needed]
Užgavėnės
Užgavėnės begins on the night before Ash Wednesday, when an effigy
of winter (usually named Morė) is burnt. A major element symbolizes
the defeat of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a staged battle
between Lašininis ("porky") personifying winter and Kanapinis
("hempen man") personifying spring. Devils, witches, goats, the grim
reaper, and other joyful and frightening characters appear in costumes
during the celebrations.[citation needed]
Eating pancakes is an important part of the celebration.[further
explanation needed][citation needed]
Luxembourg[edit]
In Luxembourg, the pre-Lenten holiday season is known as Fuesend.
Throughout the Grand-Duchy, parades and parties are held.[citation
needed]
Pétange
Pétange is the home of the Grand-Duchy's largest pre-Lenten Karneval
celebration. Annually hosting a cavalcade with roughly 1,200
participants and thousand of celebrants, the official name is Karneval
Gemeng Péiteng or "Kagepe" (the initials in
Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish are
pronounced "Ka", "Ge" and "Pe").[citation needed]
The town of
Remich
Remich holds a three-day-long celebration, notable for two
special events in addition to its parades. The first is the
Stréimännchen, which is the burning of a male effigy from the Remich
Bridge that crosses the
Moselle River
Moselle River separating the Grand Duchy from
Germany. The Stréimännchen symbolizes the burning away of winter.
The other special event at the
Remich
Remich Fuesend celebrations is the
Buergbrennen or bonfire that closes the celebration.[citation needed]
Like Remich, the town of
Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette holds a three-day
celebration. Other major Fuesend parades in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg are held in the
towns of
Diekirch
Diekirch and Schifflange.[88]
Malta[edit]
Carnival
Carnival procession in
Valletta
Valletta on Malta
Carnival
Carnival in Valletta, Malta
Main article: Maltese Carnival
Carnival
Carnival in
Malta
Malta (Maltese: il-Karnival ta' Malta) was introduced to
the islands by Grand Master
Piero de Ponte
Piero de Ponte in 1535. It is held during
the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, and typically includes masked
balls, fancy dresses, and grotesque mask competitions, lavish
late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical
floats presided over by King
Carnival
Carnival (Maltese: ir-Re tal-Karnival),
marching bands, and costumed revellers.[citation needed]
The largest celebration takes place in and around the capital city of
Valletta
Valletta and Floriana; several more "spontaneous" Carnivals take place
in more remote areas. The
Nadur Carnival
Nadur Carnival is notable for its darker
themes. In 2005, the
Nadur Carnival
Nadur Carnival hosted the largest-ever gathering
of international
Carnival
Carnival organizers for the FECC's global
summit.[citation needed]
Traditional dances include the parata, a lighthearted re-enactment of
the 1565 victory of the
Knights Hospitaller
.svg/440px-Flag_of_the_Order_of_St._John_(various).svg.png)
Knights Hospitaller over the Turks, and an
18th-century court dance known as il-Maltija.
Carnival
Carnival food includes
perlini (multi-coloured, sugar-coated almonds) and the prinjolata,
which is a towering assembly of sponge cake, biscuits, almonds, and
citrus fruits, topped with cream and pine nuts.[citation needed]
Netherlands[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival in the Netherlands
The Fight Between
Carnival
Carnival and Lent, Pieter Bruegel, 1559
Carnival
Carnival in the
Netherlands
Netherlands is called Carnaval, Vastenavond ("Eve of
Lent") or, in Limburgish, Vastelaovend(j), and is mostly celebrated in
traditionally
Catholic
Catholic regions, particularly in the southern provinces
of North Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland, but also in Gelderland,
especially in Twente. While Dutch Carnaval is officially celebrated on
the Sunday through Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, since the 1970s
the feast has gradually started earlier and generally includes now the
preceding weekend. Although traditions vary from town to town, Dutch
carnaval usually includes a parade, a "Prince Carnival" plus cortège
("Council of 11", sometimes with a
Jester
Jester or Adjutant), sometimes also
the handing over by the mayor of the symbolic keys of the town to
Prince Carnival, the burning or burial of a symbolic figure, a peasant
wedding (boerenbruiloft), and eating herring (haring happen) on Ash
Wednesday.[citation needed]
Two main variants can be distinguished: the
Rhineland
Rhineland carnaval, found
in the province of Limburg, and the Bourgondische carnaval, found
mainly in North Brabant. Maastricht, Limburg's capital, holds a street
carnaval that features elaborate costumes.[89]
The first known documentation dates from the late 8th century
(Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum), but Carnaval was already
mentioned during the
First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea in 325 and by Caesarius
of Arles (470-542) around 500 CE. In the
Netherlands
Netherlands itself, the first
documentation is found in 1383 in 's-Hertogenbosch. The oldest-known
images of Dutch Carnaval festivities date from 1485, also in
's-Hertogenbosch.[citation needed]
Normal daily life comes to a stop for about a week in the southern
part of the
Netherlands
Netherlands during the carnival, with roads temporary
blocked and many local businesses closed for the week as a result of
employees who are en masse taking the days off during and the day
after the carnival.[90][91]
Poland[edit]
See also: Slavic carnival
The Polish
Carnival
Carnival season includes
Fat Thursday
Fat Thursday (Polish: Tłusty
Czwartek), when pączki (doughnuts) are eaten, and Śledzik (Shrove
Tuesday) or
Herring
Herring Day. The Tuesday before the start of
Lent
Lent is also
often called Ostatki (literally "leftovers"), meaning the last day to
party before the Lenten season.[citation needed]
The traditional way to celebrate
Carnival
Carnival is the kulig, a horse-drawn
sleigh ride through the snow-covered countryside. In modern times,
Carnival
Carnival is increasingly seen as an excuse for intensive partying and
has become more commercialized, with stores offering Carnival-season
sales.[citation needed]
Portugal[edit]
Sesimbra
Sesimbra Carnival, Portugal
Carnival
Carnival is Carnaval in Portugal, celebrated throughout the country,
most famously in Ovar, Sesimbra, Madeira, Loulé, Nazaré, and Torres
Vedras. Carnaval in Podence and
Lazarim
Lazarim incorporates pagan traditions
such as the careto, while the
Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras celebration is probably
the most typical.[citation needed]
Although
Portugal
Portugal introduced Christianity and the customs related to
Catholic
Catholic practice to Brazil, the country has begun to adopt some
aspects of Brazilian-style Carnaval celebrations, in particular those
of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro with sumptuous parades, samba and other musical
elements.[citation needed]
Lazarim[edit]
Carnaval at Lazarim
In Lazarim, a civil parish in the municipality of Lamego, celebrations
follow the pagan tradition of Roman Saturnalias. It celebrates by
burning colorful effigies and dressing in home-made costumes.
Locally-made wooden masks are worn. The masks are effigies of men and
women with horns, but both roles are performed by men. They are
distinguished by their clothes, with caricature attributes of both men
and women.[citation needed]
The
Lazarim
Lazarim Carnaval cycle encompasses two periods, the first starting
on the fifth Sunday before Quinquagesima Sunday. Masked figures and
people wearing large sculpted heads walk through the town. The locals
feast on meats, above all pork. The second cycle, held on Sundays
preceding Ash Wednesday, incorporates the tradition of the Compadres
and Comadres, with men and women displaying light-hearted authority
over the other.[citation needed]
Over the five weeks, men prepare large masked heads and women raise
funds to pay for two mannequins that will be sacrificed in a public
bonfire. This is a key event and is unique to Portugal. During the
bonfire, a girl reads the Compadre's will and a boy reads the
Comadre's will. The executors of the will are named, a donkey is
symbolically distributed to both female and male "heirs", and then
there is the final reckoning in which the Entrudo, or
Carnival
Carnival doll,
is burned.[citation needed]
Azores[edit]
On the islands of the Azores, local clubs and
Carnival
Carnival groups create
colorful and creative costumes that jab at politics or
culture.[citation needed]
On São Miguel Island,
Carnival
Carnival features street vendors selling fried
dough, called a malassada. The festival on the biggest island starts
off with a black tie grand ball, followed by
Latin
Latin music at Coliseu
Micaelense. A children's parade fills the streets of Ponta Delgada
with children from each school district in costume. A massive parade
continues past midnight, ending in fireworks.[citation needed]
The event includes theatre performances and dances. In the "Danças de
Entrudo", hundreds of people follow the dancers around the island.
Throughout the show the dancers act out scenes from daily life. The
"Dances de Carnival" are allegorical and comedic tales acted out in
the streets. The largest is in Angra do Heroísmo, with more than 30
groups performing. More Portuguese-language theatrical performances
occur there than anywhere else.[citation needed]
Festivities end on Ash Wednesday, when locals sit down for the
"Batatada" or potato feast, in which the main dish is salted cod with
potatoes, eggs, mint, bread and wine. Residents then return to the
streets for the burning of the "
Carnival
Carnival clown", ending the
season.[citation needed]
Madeira[edit]
A dancer in the
Carnival
Carnival of Madeira, on the island's capital Funchal
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival of Madeira
On the island of Madeira, the island's capital, Funchal, wakes up on
the Friday before
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday to the sound of brass bands and
Carnival
Carnival parades throughout downtown. Festivities continue with
concerts and shows in the Praça do Município for five consecutive
days. The main
Carnival
Carnival street parade takes place on Saturday evening,
with thousands of samba dancers filling the streets. The traditional
street event takes place on Tuesday, featuring daring caricatures.[92]
Arguably, Brazil's
Carnival
Carnival could be traced to the period of the
Portuguese Age of Discoveries when their caravels passed regularly
through Madeira, a territory that emphatically celebrated
Carnival.[93][94]
Other regions[edit]
In Estarreja, in the Central region of Portugal, the town's first
references to
Carnival
Carnival were in the 14th century, with "Flower
Battles", richly decorated floats that paraded through the streets. At
the beginning of the twentieth century, these festivities ended with
the deaths of its main promoters, only to reappear again in the 1960s
to become one of many important
Carnival
Carnival festivals in
Portugal.[citation needed]
In the Northern region of Podence, children appear from Sunday to
Tuesday with tin masks and colorful multilayered costumes made from
red, green and yellow wool. In the Central
Portugal
Portugal towns of
Nelas
Nelas and
Canas de Senhorim,
Carnival
Carnival is an important tourist event.
Nelas
Nelas and
Canas de Senhorim
Canas de Senhorim host four festive parades that offer colorful and
creative costumes: Bairro da Igreja and Cimo do Povo in
Nelas
Nelas and do
Paço and do Rossio in Canas de Senhorim.[citation needed]
Ovar
Ovar Carnival, Portugal
Carnival
Carnival in the town of Ovar, near Porto, began in 1952 and is the
region's largest festivity, representing a large investment and the
most important touristic event to the city. It is known for its
creative designs, displayed in the
Carnival
Carnival Parade, which features
troupes with themed costumes and music, ranging from the traditional
to pop culture. Along with the
Carnival
Carnival Parade, there are five nights
of partying, finishing with the famous 'Magical night' where people
come from all over the country, mostly with their handmade costumes,
only to have fun with the locals.[citation needed]
In Lisbon,
Carnival
Carnival offers parades, dances and festivities featuring
stars from
Portugal
Portugal and Brazil. The
Loures
Loures
Carnival
Carnival celebrates the
country's folk traditions, including the enterro do bacalhau or burial
of the cod, which marks the end of
Carnival
Carnival and the
festivities.[citation needed]
North of
Lisbon
Lisbon is the famous
Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras Carnival, described as the
"most Portuguese in Portugal". The celebration highlight is a parade
of creatively decorated streetcars that satirize society and
politics.[citation needed]
Other Central
Portugal
Portugal towns, such as Fátima and Leiria, offer
colorful, family-friendly celebrations. In these towns, everyone
dresses up as if it were Halloween. Children and adults wear
masks.[citation needed]
In the
Algarve
Algarve region, several resort towns offer
Carnival
Carnival parades.
Besides the themed floats and cars, the festivities include "samba"
groups, bands, dances, and music.[95]
Republic of Macedonia[edit]
The most popular Carnivals in Macedonia are in
Vevčani
Vevčani and
Strumica.[citation needed]
The
Vevčani
Vevčani
Carnival
Carnival (Macedonian: Вевчански Kарневал,
translated Vevchanski Karneval) has been held for over 1,400 years,
and takes place on 13 and 14 January (New Year's Eve and New Year's
Day by the old calendar). The village becomes a live theatre where
costumed actors improvise on the streets in roles such as the
traditional "August the Stupid".[96]
The
Strumica
.jpg/500px-Плоштад_Гоце_Делчев_Струмица_(2).jpg)
Strumica
Carnival
Carnival (Macedonian: Струмички
Карневал, translated Strumichki Karneval) has been held since
at least 1670, when the Turkish author Evlija Chelebija wrote while
staying there, "I came into a town located in the foothills of a high
hillock and what I saw that night was masked people running
house–to–house, with laughter, scream and song." The
Carnival
Carnival took
an organized form in 1991; in 1994,
Strumica
Strumica became a member of FECC
and in 1998 hosted the XVIII International Congress of Carnival
Cities. The
Strumica
Strumica
Carnival
Carnival opens on a Saturday night at a masked
ball where the Prince and Princess are chosen; the main
Carnival
Carnival night
is on Tuesday, when masked participants (including groups from abroad)
compete in various subjects. As of 2000, the Festival of Caricatures
and Aphorisms has been held as part of Strumica's Carnival
celebrations.[citation needed]
Russia[edit]
Main article: Maslenitsa
See also: Slavic carnival
Boris Kustodiev's painting of Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa (Масленица, also called "Pancake Week" or "Cheese
Week") is a Russian folk holiday that incorporates some pagan
traditions. It is celebrated during the last week before Lent. The
essential element is bliny, Russian pancakes, popularly taken to
symbolize the sun. Round and golden, they are made from the rich foods
allowed that week by the Orthodox traditions: butter, eggs, and milk.
(In the tradition of Orthodox Lent, the consumption of meat ceases one
week before that of milk and eggs.)[citation needed]
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa also includes masquerades, snowball fights, sledding,
swinging on swings, and sleigh rides. The mascot is a brightly dressed
straw effigy of Lady Maslenitsa, formerly known as Kostroma. The
celebration culminates on Sunday evening, when Lady
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa is
stripped of her finery and put to the flames of a
bonfire.[97][citation needed]
Slovakia[edit]
See also: Slavic carnival
In Slovakia, the
Fašiangy
Fašiangy (fašiang, fašangy) takes place from Three
Kings Day (Traja králi) until the midnight before Ash Wednesday
(Škaredá streda or Popolcová streda). At the midnight marking the
end of fašiangy, a symbolic burial ceremony for the contrabass is
performed, because music ceases for Lent.[citation needed]
Slovenia[edit]
The Slovenian countryside displays a variety of disguised groups and
individual characters, among which the most popular and characteristic
is the Kurent (plural: Kurenti), a monstrous and demon-like, but
fluffy figure. The most significant festival is held in
Ptuj
Ptuj (see:
Kurentovanje). Its special feature are the Kurents themselves, magical
creatures from another world, who visit major events throughout the
country, trying to banish the winter and announce spring's arrival,
fertility, and new life with noise and dancing. The origin of the
Kurent is a mystery, and not much is known of the times, beliefs, or
purposes connected with its first appearance. The origin of the name
itself is obscure.[citation needed]
The
Cerknica
Cerknica
Carnival
Carnival is heralded by a figure called "Poganjič"
carrying a whip. In the procession, organised by the "Pust society", a
monstrous witch named Uršula is driven from the mountain Slivnica, to
be burned at the stake on Ash Wednesday. Unique to this region is a
group of dormice, driven by the Devil and a huge fire-breathing
dragon.
Cerkno
Cerkno and its surrounding area are known for the Laufarji,
Carnival
Carnival figures with artistically carved wooden masks.[citation
needed]
The Maškare from
Dobrepolje
Dobrepolje used to represent a triple character: the
beautiful, the ugly (among which the most important represented by an
old man, an old woman, a hunchback, and a Kurent), and the noble
(imitating the urban elite).[citation needed]
The major part of the population, especially the young and children,
dress up in ordinary non-ethnic costumes, going to school, work, and
organized events, where prizes are given for the best and most
original costumes. Costumed children sometimes go from house to house
asking for treats.[citation needed]
Spain[edit]
The Burial of the Sardine, Francisco Goya, c. 1812
Arguably the most famous Carnivals in Spain are Santa Cruz, Las
Palmas, Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Tarragona, Águilas, Solsona,
Cádiz, Badajoz,
Bielsa
Bielsa (an ancestral
Carnival
Carnival celebration), Plan, San
Juan de Plan, Laza, Verín, Viana, and Xinzo de Limia.[citation
needed]
One of the oldest pre-Indo-European carnival in
Europe
Europe takes place in
Ituren and
Zubieta in
Navarre
Navarre in late January/early February. The
carnival symbolises the eternal struggle between the forces of good
and evil, light and darkness, winter and spring.
Andalusia[edit]
Main article:
Carnival
Carnival of Cádiz
A choir singing in the
Carnival
Carnival of Cádiz
In Cádiz, the costumes worn are often related to recent news, such as
the bird flu epidemic in 2006, during which many people were disguised
as chickens. The feeling of this
Carnival
Carnival is the sharp criticism, the
funny play on words and the imagination in the costumes, more than the
glamorous dressings. It is traditional to paint the face with lipstick
as a humble substitute of a mask.[citation needed]
The most famous groups are the chirigotas, choirs, and comparsas. The
chirigotas are well known witty, satiric popular groups who sing about
politics, new times, and household topics, wearing the same costume,
which they prepare for the whole year. The Choirs (coros) are wider
groups that go on open carts through the streets singing with an
orchestra of guitars and lutes. Their signature piece is the "Carnival
Tango", alternating comical and serious repertory. The comparsas are
the serious counterpart of the chirigota in Cádiz, and the poetic
lyrics and the criticism are their main ingredients. They have a more
elaborated polyphony that is easily recognizable by the typical
countertenor voice.[citation needed]
Canary Islands[edit]
See also:
Carnival
Carnival of
Las Palmas
Las Palmas and
Carnival
Carnival of Santa Cruz de
Tenerife
Carnival
Carnival Queen of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2009
The Santa Cruz
Carnival
Carnival is, with the
Carnival
Carnival of Cadiz, the most
important festival for Spanish tourism and Spain's largest
Carnival.[98][99][100][101] In 1980, it was declared a Festival
Tourist International Interest. Every February, Santa Cruz de
Tenerife, the capital of the largest of the Canary Islands, hosts the
event, attracting around a million people.[102]
In 1980, it was declared a Festival Tourist International
Interest.[102] In 1987, Cuban singer
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz with orchestra Billo's
Caracas Boys performed at the "
Carnival
Carnival Chicharrero", attended by
250,000 people. This was registered in the Guinness Book of World
Records as the largest gathering of people in an outdoor plaza to
attend a concert, a record she holds today.[citation needed]
The
Carnival
Carnival of
Las Palmas
Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) has a drag queen's gala
where a jury chooses a winner.[103]
Catalonia[edit]
Vidalot is the last night of revelry before
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday in Vilanova.
Water color painting by Brad Erickson.
In Catalonia, people dress in masks and costume (often in themed
groups) and organize a week-long series of parties, pranks, outlandish
activities such as bed races, street dramas satirizing public figures,
and raucous processions to welcome the arrival of Sa Majestat el Rei
Carnestoltes ("His Majesty King Carnival"), known by various titles,
including el Rei dels poca-soltes ("King of the Crackpots"), Princep
etern de Cornudella ("Eternal Prince of Cuckoldry"), Duc de ximples i
corrumputs ("Duke of Fools and the Corrupt"), Marquès de la bona
mamella ("Marquis of the lovely breast"), Comte de tots els barruts
("Count of the Insolent"), Baró de les Calaverades ("Baron of
Nocturnal Debaucheries"), and Senyor de l'alt Plàtan florit, dels
barraquers i gamberrades i artista d'honor dalt del llit ("Lord of the
Tall Banana in Bloom, of the Voyeurs and Punks and the Artist of Honor
upon the Bed").[104]
The King presides over a period of misrule in which conventional
social rules may be broken and reckless behavior is encouraged.
Festivities are held in the open air, beginning with a cercavila, a
ritual procession throughout the town to call everyone to attend. Rues
of masked revelers dance alongside. On Thursday, Dijous Gras (Fat
Thursday) is celebrated, also called 'omelette day' (el dia de la
truita), on which coques (de llardons, butifarra d'ou, butifarra), and
omelettes are eaten. The festivities end on
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday with
elaborate funeral rituals marking the death of King Carnival, who is
typically burned on a pyre in what is called the "burial of the
sardine" (enterrament de la sardina), or, in Vilanova, as
l'enterro.[105]
The
Carnival
Carnival of
Vilanova i la Geltrú
Vilanova i la Geltrú has a documented history from
1790[106] and is one of the richest in the variety of its acts and
rituals. It adopts an ancient style in which satire, the grotesque
body[3] (particularly cross-dressing and displays of exaggerated
bellies, noses, and phalli) and above all, active participation are
valued over glamorous, media-friendly spectacles that Vilanovins mock
as "thighs and feathers".[107] It is best known for Les Comparses
(held on Sunday), a tumultuous dance in which 12,000 or more dancers
organized into rival groups throw 75 tons of hard candies at one
other. The women protect their faces with Mantons de Manila (Manila
shawls), but eye-patches and slings for broken arms are common the
following week. Vilanovins organize an elaborate ritual for the
arrival of King
Carnival
Carnival called l'Arrivo that changes every year. It
includes a raucous procession of floats and dancers lampooning current
events or public figures and a bitingly satiric sermon (el sermo)
delivered by the King himself. On Dijous Gras, Vilanovin children are
excused from school to participate in the Merengada, a day-long scene
of eating and fighting with sticky, sweet meringue.
Children become covered in meringue during Dijous Gras.
Adults have a meringue battle at midnight at the historic Plaça de
les Cols in the mysterious sortida del Moixo Foguer (the outing of
Little-Bird-Bonfire), accompanied by the Xerraire (jabberer) who
insults the crowd.[108] In the King's procession, he and his
concubines scandalize the town with their sexual behavior. A correfoc
(fire run) or Devil's dance (ball de diables), features dancing youth
amid the sparks and explosions of the ritual crew of devils. Other
items includes bed races in the streets, the debauched Nit dels
Mascarots, karaoke sausage roasts, xatonades, the children's party,
Vidalet, the last night of revelry, Vidalot, the talking-dance of the
Mismatched Couples (Ball de Malcasats) and the children's King Caramel
whose massive belly, long nose and sausage-like hair hint at his
insatiable appetites.
The Ball de Malcasats (Dance of the Mismatched Couples) is a satiric
talking-dance traditional to Carnaval in Vilanova.
For the King's funeral, people dress in elaborate mourning costume,
many of them cross-dressing men who carry bouquets of phallic
vegetables. In the funeral house, the body of the King is surrounded
by an honor guard and weeping concubines, crying over the loss of
sexual pleasure brought about by his death. The King's body is carried
to the Plaça de la Vila where a satiric eulogy is delivered while the
townspeople eat salty grilled sardines with bread and wine, suggesting
the symbolic cannibalism of the communion ritual. Finally, amid
rockets and explosions, the King's body is burned in a massive
pyre.[105][106]
"Ploranyeres" weep for the death of His Majesty and the loss of
pleasure.
Donkeys of Solsona, hung in the tower bell.
Carnaval de Solsona takes place in Solsona, Lleida. It is one of the
longest; free events in the streets and nightly concerts run for more
than a week. The
Carnival
Carnival is known for a legend that explains how a
donkey was hung at the tower bell − because the animal wanted to eat
grass that grew on the top of the tower. To celebrate this legend,
locals hang a stuffed donkey at the tower that "pisses" above the
excited crowd using a water pump. This event is the most important and
takes place on Saturday night. For this reason, the inhabitants are
called matarrucs ("donkey killers").[109]
"Comparses" groups organize free activities. These groups of friends
create and personalize a uniformed suit to wear during the
festivities.[citation needed]
In Sitges, special feasts include xatonades (xató is a traditional
local salad of the Penedès coast) served with omelettes. Two
important moments are the Rua de la Disbauxa (Debauchery Parade) on
Sunday night and the Rua de l'Extermini (Extermination Parade) on
Tuesday night. Around 40 floats draw more than 2,500
participants.[citation needed]
Tarragona
Tarragona has one of the region's most complete ritual sequences. The
events start with the building of a huge barrel and ends with its
burning with the effigies of the King and Queen. On Saturday, the main
parade takes place with masked groups, zoomorphic figures, music, and
percussion bands, and groups with fireworks (the devils, the dragon,
the ox, the female dragon).
Carnival
Carnival groups stand out for their
clothes full of elegance, showing brilliant examples of fabric crafts,
at the Saturday and Sunday parades. About 5,000 people are members of
the parade groups.[citation needed]
Valencian Community[edit]
One of the most important Spanish
Carnival
Carnival Festivals is celebrated in
Vinaròs, a small town situated in the northern part of the province
of Castellón, Valencian Community.
The
Carnival
Carnival Festival in
Vinaròs
Vinaròs has been declared of Regional
Touristic Interest and in 2017, this outstanding and ancient show
celebrates 35 years of History. The
Carnival
Carnival Festival in Vinaròs
became a forbidden celebration during the
Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War but after
the dictatorship, the party regained importance with the democracy’s
arrival.
Every year in February, forty days before the Spanish Cuaresma,
thirty-three “comparsas” go singing, dancing and walking down the
streets in a great costumes’ parade in Vinaròs. In addition, other
many festive, cultural and musical activities of all ages take place,
such as an epic battle of confetti and flour, funny karaoke contests
or the so-called “Entierro de la Sardina” (Burial of the Sardine).
Nevertheless, the most important event is the gala performance of the
Carnival’s Queen. In this breathtaking show, it is elected the Queen
of the Carnival, the major representative of the
Carnival
Carnival in Vinaròs
all year round.[110]
See also[edit]
Adloyada
Careto
Carnival
Carnival of Basel
Carny
Cirque du Soleil
Cologne
Cologne Carnival
Culture of Popular Laughter
Fair
Feast of Fools
Federation of European
Carnival
Carnival Cities
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama
New Orleans
New Orleans Mardi Gras
Sitalsasthi
Notes[edit]
^ "Largest carnival". Guinness World Records. 2004-01-01. Retrieved
2016-02-11.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carnival". Encyclopædia
Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^ a b c d Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1984. Rabelais and his world. Translated
by H. Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Original
edition, Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaia kul'tura srednevekov'ia
i Renessansa, 1965.
^ Barrows, Susanna; Room, Robin (1991). Drinking: Behavior and Belief
in Modern History. University of California Press. pp. 404–.
ISBN 9780520070851. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
^ Mauldin, Barbara (2004). ¡Carnaval!. Seattle: University of
Washington Press. p. 75.
^ "Pre-lenten festivals all over the world". philstar.com.
^ Ruprecht, Tony (14 December 2010). Toronto's Many Faces. Dundurn.
p. 115. ISBN 9781459718043. Fastelavn, held the week before
Lent, is the Danish Mardi Gras. This even takes place at the Danish
Lutheran
Lutheran Church and at Sunset Villa.
^ "Frequently Asked Questions". The Danish
Lutheran
Lutheran Church &
Cultural Center. 2014. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015.
Retrieved 17 February 2015. We celebrate Danish traditions during our
church year such as
Fastelavn
Fastelavn at lent (a
Carnival
Carnival for the kids at the
beginning of the Lenten season), a Harvest Service in Fall and
preparing for
Advent
Advent and
Christmas
Christmas with a Klippe-Klistre (Cut &
Paste Decorations) in late November. Our Danish history and heritage
is continuously incorporated into our services and events through the
year and its seasons.
^ Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan (2008). Entertaining from
Ancient
Rome
Rome to the Super Bowl. ABC-CLIO. In Anglican countries,
Mardis Gras is known as Shrove Tuesday-from shrive meaning
"confess"-or Pancake Day-after the breakfast food that symbolizes one
final hearty meal of eggs, butter, and sugar before the fast. On Ash
Wednesday, the morning after Mardi Gras, repentant Christians return
to church to receive upon the forehead the sign of the cross in
ashes.
^ a b "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 12
February 2011.
^ "
Isis
Isis Rising". Carnival.com. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
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^ Tacitus, Germania 9.6: Ceterum nec cohibere parietibus deos neque in
ullam humani oris speciem adsimulare ex magnitudine caelestium
arbitrantur – "The Germans, however, do not consider it consistent
with the grandeur of celestial beings to confine the gods within
walls, or to liken them to the form of any human countenance."
Germania 40: mox vehiculum et vestis et, si credere velis, numen ipsum
secreto lacu abluitur – "Afterwards the car, the vestments, and, if
you like to believe it, the divinity herself, are purified in a secret
lake." Trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, The
Agricola and
Germany
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de mythologie populaire, Editions Payot, Paris, 1974.
^ "Geschiedenis van carnaval in de middeleeuwen IsGeschiedenis".
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^ Oorsprong Carnaval: Middencommiteit Lommel Archived 25 February 2016
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^ "Historia del Carnaval". www.carnavales.net (in Spanish).
2003-11-06.
^ "O que é o Carnaval?". Cantao.net. Archived from the original on
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^ Erickson, Brad. 2008. Sensory Politics: Catalan Ritual and the New
Immigration. University of California at Berkeley.
^ Delgado Ruiz, Manuel. 2001. "Luces iconoclastas: Anticlericalism,
espacio, y ritual en la España contemporánia", Ariel Antropología.
Barcelona: Editorial Ariel.
^ a b Kertzer, David I. (2001). The Popes Against the Jews: The
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^ "Das Kölner Dreigestirn". koelner-karneval.info.
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^ Abrahams, Roger. 1972. "
Christmas
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^ User, Super. "CaboVerdeOnline.com - The
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^ "Zimbabwe: Biggest Street
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allAfrica.com.
^ "
Bahamas
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2009.
^ "Belizean Minds". belizeanminds.blogspot.ca.
^ Samuel Brown, J.; Vorhees, M. (2013). Belize. Lonely Planet
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^ Comparsa
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^ "Fiesta de Carnaval". Lonely Planet.
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^ "Teen
Talk
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^ 5 Reasons
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March 2015
^ Sarah de Sainte Croix. "Rio's Carnival: Not just a local party
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^ Carnaval.salvador.ba.gov.br Archived 6 June 2013 at the Wayback
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^ "G1 - Psy,
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^ "BANDA HABEAS COPOS - CARNAVAL 2014". bandahabeascopos.com.br.
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^ "The Online Guide to Toronto's Summer Carnival". Caribana.Com. 15
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^ "
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^ "
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^ McAlister, Elizabeth (2002). Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in
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^ Herrera-Sobek, María (2012-01-01). Celebrating Latino Folklore: An
Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions. ABC-CLIO.
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^ Gleeson, Bridget; Egerton, Alex (2016-09-01). Lonely Planet
Nicaragua. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781786573049.
^ http://www.amazing-holland.nl/assets/carnaval_english.pdf
^ a b "De cuando el
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Carnival duraba tres días – Huellas digitales
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^ "Panamericana – Mercedes Aráoz: Captura de José E. Crousillat no
es cortina de humo – Noticias Peru". 24horas.com.pe. Archived from
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^ "El domingo de
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Carnival deja un muerto y casi 3.000 detenidos en
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^ Editoraperu.com Archived 10 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "No a violencia por Carnivales: penarán hasta con 8 años de
cárcel a quienes causen lesiones graves El Comercio Perú".
Elcomercio.pe. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^ "Carnivales en Lima: unos cinco mil policías reforzarán la
seguridad Perú21". Peru21.pe. Archived from the original on 18 May
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^ "En proximos Carnivales policias vestidos de civiles evitaran
violencia". LaRepublica.pe. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February
2011. [permanent dead link]
^ "Panamericana – Mercedes Aráoz: Captura de José E. Crousillat no
es cortina de humo – Noticias Peru". 24horas.com.pe. Archived from
the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^ "Panamericana – Mercedes Aráoz: Captura de José E. Crousillat no
es cortina de humo – Noticias Peru". 24horas.com.pe. Archived from
the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
^ "Download
Carnival
Carnival Of Souls - IN COLOR! Also Includes The Original
Black-And-White Version Which Has Been Beautifully Restored And
Enhanced!". instrukciiskachatsignal. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
^ Ponce
Carnival
Carnival Goes International in Its 150th Anniversary Edition.
Let's Go to Ponce. Ponce Carnival. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
^ The Smithsonian Institution. "A Puerto Rican Carnival: How to Dress
for the Ponce Carnival."
^ Attendance Retrieved 12 April 2010.
^ "
Carnival
Carnival in
Trinidad
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Trinidad & Tobago - The true caribbean -
Trinidad
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Retrieved 2017-02-21.
^
Barry Jean Ancelet
Barry Jean Ancelet (1989). Capitaine, voyage ton flag : The
Traditional
Cajun
Cajun Country Mardi Gras. Center for
Louisiana
Louisiana Studies,
University of Southwestern Louisiana. ISBN 0-940984-46-6.
^ "
Cleveland
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Cleveland Kurentovanje.
^
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Carnival is Coming (UruguayNow) Archived 17 January 2012 at the
Wayback Machine.
^ "
Carnival
Carnival in Venezuela". CaribbeanChoice. 5 February 2008. Retrieved
9 March 2011.
^ "The official festival of Goa, Carnival". The Navhind Times. 5 March
2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011.
^ "
Jember
Jember Fashion Carnival".
Jember
Jember Fashion Carnival. Retrieved 11
August 2017.
^ Kornelis Kaha (5 April 2015). "Pemuda lintas agama akan ramaikan
Pawai Paskah di Kupang". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
^ Heneghan, Tom (9 March 2011). "
Istanbul
Istanbul celebrates carnival after
nearly 70 years". Reuters. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
^ Mullins, Ansel (27 February 2011). "Reviving
Carnival
Carnival in Istanbul".
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^ Anne Shapiro Devreux (22 January 1989). "Masked Revels of a Belgian
Mardi Gras". New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ "
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^ "Erfgoed Vlaamse gemeenschap". Retrieved 12 February
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^ "Historique". www.malmedy.be. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
^ "
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^ Geschichte der Stadt Speyer. Band 1, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart
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^ "The Annual
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Phallus Festival in Greece", Der Spiegel, English
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^ "TA NEA On-line – Τριήμερο γλεντιού στα
Ραγκουτσάρια". Tanea.gr. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 9 March
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^ "Fuesend (February and March)". www.luxembourg.public.lu. 28 April
2015. Retrieved 5 December 2017. The best-known cavalcades are those
in Diekirch, Schifflange, Esch-sur-Alzette,
Remich
Remich and Pétange. A
cavalcade especially for children is organised in Kayl.
^ Pauwels, Anne (1986-01-01). Immigrant Dialects and Language
Maintenance in Australia: The Case of the Limburg and Swabian
Dialects. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110883497.
^ "Wat is carnaval?". fenvlaanderen.be.
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^ Biddle, Anthony (1900). The
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^ "Carnaval da
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^ "SIC Notícias - Cultura". SIC Notícias.
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^ Jorge. "Fiestas de España. El
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^ a b Santacruzmas.com[dead link]
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^ a b Garcia, Xavier. 1972.
Vilanova i la Geltrú
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References[edit]
Wikisource
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
Carnival.
Giampaolo di Cocco (2007) Alle origini del Carnevale: Mysteria isiaci
e miti cattolici (Florence: Pontecorboli)
Valantasis, Richard (2000) Religions of late antiquity in practice
McGowan, Chris and Pessanha, Ricardo. "The Brazilian Sound: Samba,
Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil." 1998. 2nd edition. Temple
University Press. ISBN 1-56639-545-3.
Jeroen Dewulf (2017) From the Kingdom of Kongo to Congo Square: Kongo
Dances and the Origins of the
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras Indians (Lafayette, LA:
University of
Louisiana
Louisiana at Lafayette Press)
v
t
e
Carnival
Carnival around the world
Asia
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Oceania
Australia
South America
Argentina
Buenos Aires
Murga
Brazil
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Colombia
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t
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Liturgical year
Liturgical year of the
Catholic
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Based on the
General Roman Calendar
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