As some of you know there is a party, a world party going on it's called Carnival... and here's what you need to know.
Carnival (Carnaval, Καρναβάλι (Carnavali), Carnevale, Carnestoltes, Carnaval, Karneval, Carnaval and Karnawal in Portuguese, Greek, Italian, Catalan, French, Dutch, German, Spanish and Polish languages) is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life.
Carnival is a festival traditionally held in Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox societies. Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions, such as the Danish Carnival or other Shrove Tuesday events. The Brazilian Carnaval is one of the best-known celebrations today, but many cities and regions worldwide celebrate with large, popular, and days-long events. These include the Carnevale of Venice and the Carnevale of Viareggio, Italy, the German Rhineland carnivals, centering on the Carnivals in Dusseldorf,Cologne and Mainz; the carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; in Andalusia(Spain)Carnival of Cádiz ; the carnival of Cape Verde; of Torres Vedras, Portugal; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rijeka, Croatia; Barranquilla, Colombia; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Jamaica; the Carnaval and the Llamadas in Montevideo, Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. In the United States, the famous Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, date back to French and Spanish colonial times.
Length and individual holidays
While the starting day of Carnival varies, the festival usually builds up to a crescendo in the week before lent, ending on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In the Ambrosian rite of Milan (Italy), the carnival ends on the Saturday after Ash Wednesday. In areas in which people practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Carnival ends on the Sunday seven weeks before Easter, since in Eastern tradition lent begins on Clean Monday.
Most common the season begins on Septuagesima, the first Sunday before Ash Wednesday. In some places it starts as early as Twelfth Night (January 6) or even in November. The most important celebrations are generally concentrated during the last days of the season before Ash Wednesday.
The origin of the name "carnival" is disputed. Variants in Italian dialects suggest that the name comes from the Italian carne levare or similar, meaning "to remove meat", since meat is prohibited during Lent.
A different explanation states that the word comes from the Late Latin expression carne vale, which means "farewell to meat", signifying that those were the last days when one could eat meat before the fasting of Lent. Yet another translation depicts carne vale as "a farewell to the flesh", a phrase embraced by certain carnival celebrations that encourage letting go of your former (or everyday) self and embracing the carefree nature of the festival. However, explanations proceeding from carne vale seem to be folk etymologies and are not supported by philological evidence.
Another possible explanation comes from the term "Carrus Navalis" (ship cart), the name of the roman festival of Isis, where her image was carried to the sea-shore to bless the start of the sailing season. The festival consisted in a parade of masks following an adorned wooden boat, that would reflect the floats of modern carnivals.
Carnival around the world
India
Goa
Goa (which was a Portuguese colony) has a long tradition of celebrating "Carnival" known as Intruz (possibly from the Portuguese word Entrudo, another name for Carnival) with colorful masks and floats. The city of Loutulim has the largest carnival which sees merry residents gathered on the streets amid beating of drums and reverberating music. The celebrations run three days culminating in a carnival parade on fat Tuesday. There is participation of a large number of tourists. Dance troupes performed skits before throwing water on each other. After the revelry, song and dance, great food and good wine come together beautifully. After partying, the crowds enjoy a delightful Goan cuisine at a buffet dinner.
Kerala
In contrast, the state of Kerala has very different celebrations. The festival is called "Raasa" (means fun in Sanskrit and in early malayalam). No masks are worn, but there is music and festivities, sometimes with fireworks. The Raasas are organized on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday by local catholic churches, and usually culminate in a public mass or a mass conducted in the church. Even though mostly Syrian or Roman Catholic Christians only take part in Raasa Parade (which is considered the religious part), both Hindus and Muslims join to watch and join the public mass by Christians in the festivities. There is no food at the end of the celebration but there are fireworks organized by some churches. People however offer half boiled or raw rice for the "Chembeduppu" ceremony in large copper vessels ("Chembu") kept at the Church. The copper vessels carrying the half-boiled rice were taken out in a Raasa procession by the faithfuls with traditional Church orchestra playing the accompaniment. The golden and the silver cross as well as the Papal and Catholicate flags were also taken out with the Raasa procession.
Europe
Belgium
Many Belgian towns celebrate Carnival, typically with costume parades, partying and fireworks.
The city of Aalst celebrates Carnival during a whole week leading up to Ash Wednesday. In 2010 it will most probably be recognised as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The main parades of the Carnival of Binche stretch over the three days before Lent. The most important participants are the Gilles, who go out in their traditional costumes on Mardi Gras and throw blood oranges to the crowd. Carnival in Binche has a history dating back at least to the 16th century. In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was recognised as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Other large carnival celebrations are held in Malmedy.
Some Belgian cities hold carnivals later during Lent. One of the best known is Stavelot, where the Carnaval de la Laetare takes place on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. The most well-known participants are the Blancs-Moussis, dressed in white and wearing long red noses. They parade through town throwing confetti and beating bystanders with dried pig bladders. Another large carnival celebration on Laetare Sunday is held in Halle.
Cyprus
In Cyprus, the Carnival is celebrated for 10 consecutive days just before the beginning of Lent. The Carnival had been celebrated for centuries on the island by dressing up, holding masked balls and visiting friend's houses in fancy costumes. It is believed that the tradition was established during the Venetian rule. It is also believed ancient Greek traditions might have contributed as well. Such traditions include festivities for greek deities such as Dionysus. However, it is during the past one hundred years or so that an organised festival takes place annually. The festival is celebrated almost exclusively in the city of Limassol, which holds the largest annual carnival on the island. In Cyprus, the carnival season changes according to the Greek Orthodox calendar.
There are three main parades taking place. The first one takes place on the first day of the Carnival, during which the "Carnival King" goes around the centre of the city on his carriage. The King can be either a real person in a costume or an artistically made effigy. The parade one takes place on the first Sunday of the festival, and the participants are mainly children. The third parade is the largest one and takes place on the last day of Carnival, before the Monday that marks the beginning of Lent. During this parade several groups in costumes, which often consist of hundreds of people, walk along the longest avenue of the town. It is important to mention that in either of the Sunday parades, the majority of the participants are ordinary citizens, while everyone is entitled to taking part in the parades.
Greece
The carnival season is also known as the Apókreō (Greek: Ἀπόκρεω, "weaning from meat"), or the season of the "Opening of the Triodion", so named after the liturgical book used by the church from then until the Holy Week. Among the high points of the season is Tsiknopémptẽ, "Smoke Thursday", where "smoke" refers to the smokey smell created when meat is roasted over open fire. Tsíkna is an anagram of the Ancient Greek word kníssa, the smoke and smell of roasting meat. On Tsiknopempte most people go out for roast meat dinners, in taverns or friends' houses, a ritual repeated the following Sunday, Apokreo Sunday. The following week, the last before Lent, is called Tyrinē (Greek: Τυρινή, "cheese [week]") because eating meat is not allowed, but dairy products are. The Great 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 general revelry.
Patras in the Peloponnese, holds the largest annual carnival in Greece, the famous Patras Carnival, with celebrations starting on the week before the beginning of the Great Lent, which falls between late February to early March. It is a 3-day-long spectacle replete with concerts, balles masqués, parading troupes, floats, a treasure hunt and many events for children. The grand parade of masked troupes and floats is held at noon, Tyrine Sunday, and culminates after several hours in the ceremonial burning of the effigy of King Carnival at the Patras harbour.
In many other regions, festivities of smaller extent are organized, focused on the reenactment of traditional carnevalic customs; for example those held in Tyrnavos (Thessaly), Kozani (West Macedonia), Rethymno (Crete) and in Xanthi (East Macedonia and Thrace). Specifically Tyrnavos holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional "phallkloric" event in which giant, gaudily painted effigies of phalluses made of papier maché are paraded, and which all women present are asked to touch, or kiss, their reward for doing so being a shot of the famous local ouzo liquor.
Portugal
Carnival in Portugal is celebrated throughout the country, the most famous are the ones of Ovar, Madeira, Loulé, Nazaré, and Torres Vedras. The ones from Podence and Lazarim have pagan traditions, namely the Careto, and Torres Vedras Carnival is seen as the most typical Portuguese carnival.
Paradoxically, Portugal having introduced Christianity and the customs related to Catholic practice to Brazil, has started to adopt some of the aspects of Brazilian-style Carnival celebrations, in particular those of Rio de Janeiro with sumptuous parades, Samba and other Brazilian musical elements.
Americas
Brazil
An important part of the Brazilian Carnival takes place in the Rio Carnival, with samba schools parading in the Sambadrome ("sambódromo" in Portuguese). It's the largest carnival event in this country, considered to be the largest of the kind in the world. Called "One of the biggest shows of the Earth", the festival attracts millions of tourists, both Brazilians and foreigners who come from everywhere to participate and enjoy the great show. Samba Schools are large, social entities with thousands of members and a theme for their song and parade each year. Blocos are generally small informal groups also with a definite theme in their samba, usually satirical of the current political situation. But there are also a lot, about 30 of them in Rio de Janeiro, that are very big in number of participants, gathering hundreds of thousands of people. There are more than 200 blocos in Rio de Janeiro. Bandas are samba musical bands, usually formed by enthusiasts in the same neighborhood.
An adapted truck from Salvador, with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play songs of local genres such as Axé music, Samba-reggae, Pagode and Arrocha, is driven with the following crowd both dancing and singing. It was originally staged by two Salvador musicians, Dodo & Osmar, in the 1950s.
Pernambuco has large Carnival celebrations, including the Frevo, typical Pernambuco music. Another famous carnival music style from Pernambuco is Maracatu. The cities of Recife and Olinda also host large carnival celebrations in Brazil. The largest carnival parade in all of the world according The Guinness Book of World Records is named Galo da Madrugada, which takes place in downtown Recife on the Saturday of carnival. Another famous event is the Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos.
Peru
The town of Cajamarca is considered the capital of Peruvian carnival. Local residents of all ages as well as tourists dance around the unhsa, or yunsa, a tree adorned with ribbons, balloons, toys, fruits, bottles of liquor, and other prizes.
At a certain point the Mayordomo (governor of the feast) walks into the circle. The governor chooses a partner to go to the unsha, where they attempt to cut down the unsha by striking the tree 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.
The person who successfully brings down the unsha becomes next year’s governor of the feast.
Violence
The Peruvian carnival consists mostly of violent games that last all the month of February, extending to early March if Ash Wednesday falls on March, but rarely ending when it falls on February. Quoting the Lima police chief "The carnival is associated with criminal actions" (2007). It has even gone to major consequences.
The Peruvian carnival incorporates elements of violence and reflects the lately trends of urban violence in the Peruvian society after the conflict in Peru. Traditionally, Peruvian Andean festivities were held on this period every year because it's the rainy season. It was already violent during the 19th century, but the government managed to regulate it and during the early 20th century it followed the normal trends of partying and parading, while in the second half of the 20th century it has acquired the violent characteristics that it has today, to the point of being banned, first from the streets in 1958 and altogether in 1959 by the Prado government. It consisted basically on water battles in a traditional way, while in later years it includes playing with dirty water, mud, oil and colorants -and also including fighting and sometimes even looting private property and sexual assaults on women; all this to unconsenting passers-by and in a very violent way. It has also become an excuse for criminal gangs to rob people while pretending to play the game. As of 2010, it has become so violent that the government has imposed heavy penalties of up to 8 years in prison for violence during the games (the games themselves are not forbidden, but using violence during the games or coercing others to participate is).
Caribbean
Most of the islands in the Caribbean celebrate Carnival. The largest and most well-known celebration is held in Trinidad and Tobago. Dominican Republic, Antigua, Aruba, Cayman Islands, Barbados, Haiti, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts, Saint Thomas and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are also known for lengthy carnival seasons and large celebrations.
Carnival is an important cultural event on the Dutch Antilles islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius (Statia), and Bonaire. Festivities include "jump-up" parades with beautifully colored costumes, floats, and live bands as well as beauty contests and other competitions. Carnival on these islands also includes a middle-of-the-night j'ouvert (juvé) parade that ends at sunrise with the burning of a straw King Momo, cleansing the island of sins and bad luck. On Statia he is called Prince Stupid.
Carnival has also been celebrated in Cuba since the 18th century. The costumes, dances and pageantry grew with each passing year, with the participants donning costumes from the cultural and ethnic variety on the island. After Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution, carnival's religious overture was suppressed. The events remained, albeit frowned upon by the state. Carnival celebrations have been in decline throughout Cuba since 1960.
Haiti
Arguably the largest carnival in the Caribbean[citation needed], Haiti Kanaval has over 1,000,000 people jamming the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince's Champs de Marse rock to Meringues (Haitian carnival melodies) on the Beton (the street course where the floats pass through). Those with enough money or the right connections enjoy the scene from the comfort of elaborately decorated stands often decorated in resemblance of Haiti’s famous Tap-Tap street cabs. Other stands are designed in accord with the logos of their respective local corporate sponsors.
The many different genres of Haitian Music are fully represented with the different bands that blaze through the beton. Among these the Kompa Meringues are the most popular followed by the Racine (roots) bands that pay homage to the rich African Ancestry of the people. New styles with foreign influence emerge continuously mixing Haitian sounds with techno, hip-hop, reggae, zouk, Fand soukous to name a few.
The floats, on flatbed trucks and nearly two stories high (called “Chars”), look more like ocean liners than anything else, but liners with massed humps of speakers. The 20 bands in the seven-hour parade play as the chars creep through the wild crowds until 4 A.M. The dancers before and after the floats, dance the ga gun, an aggressive dance that can be as competitive as it is celebrative. Everybody knows the songs; every line, every chant has the audience ecstatic, with the floats themselves bouncing in time to the music. Condoms, thrown from floats and from the stands, were blown up like balloons. And long lines of people dance elaborate dances, turning the sensuality of the music into movement. Combined, the depth of the music and dance suggests Haiti's enormous cultural power as a reservoir of African and Creole culture, underscoring its importance as one of the major producers of art in the Caribbean. And in its intensity, its Carnival is clearly one of the more important events in the African diaspora in the Americas.
United States
Carnival celebrations, usually referred to as Mardi Gras, were first celebrated in the Gulf Coast area of the United States, but now occur in many other states. Customs originated in the onetime French colonial capitals of Mobile (now in Alabama), New Orleans (Louisiana) and Biloxi (Mississippi), all of which have celebrated for many years with street parades and masked balls. Other major U.S. cities with celebrations include Tampa, Florida, St. Louis, Missouri, Pensacola, Florida, San Diego, California, Galveston, Texas, Orlando, Florida, etc.
Louisiana
The best-known, most elaborate, and most popular events are in New Orleans, while other South Louisiana cities such as Lafayette, Mamou, and Houma, all of which were under French control at one time or another, are the sites of famous Carnival celebrations of their own.
Major Mardi Gras celebrations are spreading to other parts of the United States, such as the Mississippi Valley region of St. Louis, Missouri, Orlando, Florida in Universal Studios, and in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, California.
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