Carnival

CarnivalForotheruses,seeCarnival(disambiguation).CarnivalfloatintheRosenmontagparadeinCologne,Germany.CarnivalisafestiveseasonwhichoccursimmediatelybeforeLent;themaineventsareusuallyduringFebruary.Carnivaltypicallyinvolvesapubliccelebrationorparadecombiningsomeelementsofacircus,maskandpublicstreetparty.Peopleoftendressupormasqueradeduringthecelebrations,whichmarkanoverturningofdailylifeCarnivalisafestivaltraditionallyheldinRomanCatholicand,toalesserextent,EasternOrthodoxsocieties.Protestantareasusuallydonothavecarnivalcelebrationsorhavemodifiedtraditions,suchastheDanishCarnivalorotherShroveTuesdayevents.TheBrazilianCarnavalisoneofthebest-knowncelebrationstoday,butmanycitiesandregionsworldwidecelebratewithlarge,popular,anddays-longevents.HistoryTheLentenperiodoftheChurchcalendar,beingthesixweeksdirectlybeforeEaster,wasmarkedbyfastingandotherpiousorpenetentialpractices.TraditionallyduringLent,nopartiesorothercelebrationswereheld,andpeoplerefrainedfromeatingrichfoods,suchasmeat,dairy,fatsandsugar.ThefortydaysofLent,recallingthebiblicalaccountofthefortydaysthatJesusspentinthewilderness,servetomarkanannualtimeofturning.InthedaysbeforeLent,allrichfoodanddrinkhadtobedisposedof.Theconsumptionofthis,inagiantpartythatinvolvedthewholecommunityisthoughttobetheoriginofCarnival.Carnivalisanarchaictraditionconnectedtoagriculturalandseasonalcyclesofeveryyear.Ithasapurifyingsignificanceaswell.Theprimevalcosmicchaosrulestheworld,timeisupset,socialtiesandsocialhierarchiesarebroken,soeverykindoftransgressionisallowed.Supernaturalbeingsandsoulscometoearthtomeetthelivingbeings.Everybarrierbetweenthelivingandthedeadisknockeddownbecausetheprimevalchaoslivesagain.Alotofmaskstakeuptheimagesofsupernaturalbeingstoexorcizethesebeings.AttheendtheceremonyofthefuneralofCarnival-apurifyingritual-takesplace.Onthisoccasionaritualwillisoftenreadandapuppetoranotherimage-symbolofKingCarnival-isburnt,drownedorbeheaded.Theritualfuneralsymbolizestherestorationofthecosmicorderandtheregenerationoftime,that'sanewCreation,anewCosmogony(seetheworksTheMythoftheEternalReturnandtheTraitéd‘HistoiredesReligionsbyMirceaEliade;“TheGoldenBough”byJamesGeorgeFrazer).WhileitformsanintegralpartoftheChristiancalendar,particularlyinCatholicregions,somecarnivaltraditionsmaydatebacktopre-Christiantimes.TheancientRomanfestivalsofSaturnaliaandBacchanaliamaypossiblyhavebeenabsorbedintotheItalianCarnival.TheSaturnalia,inturn,maybebasedontheGreekDionysiaandOrientalfestivals.WhilemedievalpageantsandfestivalssuchasCorpusChristiwerechurch-sanctionedcelebrations,carnivalwasalsoamanifestationofmedievalfolkculture.Manylocalcarnivalcustomsarebasedonlocalpre-Christianrituals,forexampletheelaborateritesinvolvingmaskedfiguresintheSwabian-Alemanniccarnival.Someofthebest-knowntraditions,includingcarnivalparadesandmasquerading,werefirstrecordedinmedievalItaly.ThecarnivalofVenicewasforalongtimethemostfamouscarnival.FromItaly,carnivaltraditionsspreadtotheCatholicnationsofSpain,Portugal,andFrance.FromFrance,theyspreadtotheRhinelandofGermany,andtoNewFranceinNorthAmerica.FromSpainandPortugal,theyspreadwithCatholiccolonizationtotheCaribbeanandLatinAmerica.Otherareashavedevelopedtheirowntraditions.IntheUnitedKingdom,WestIndianimmigrantsbroughtwiththemthetraditionsofCaribbeanCarnival,howevertheCarnivalsnowcelebratedatNottingHill,London;Leeds,Yorkshire,andotherplaceshavebecomedivorcedfromtheircycleinthereligiousyear,becomingpurelysecularevents,thattakeplaceinthesummermonths.LengthandindividualholidaysWhilethestartingdayofCarnivalvaries,thefestivalusuallybuildsuptoacrescendointheweekbeforelent,endingonMardiGras(FatTuesday),beforeAshWednesday,thebeginningofLent.IntheAmbrosianriteofMilan(Italy),thecarnivalendsontheSaturdayafterAshWednesday.InareasinwhichpeoplepracticeEasternOrthodoxChristianity,CarnivalendsontheSundaysevenweeksbeforeEaster,sinceinEasterntraditionlentbeginsonCleanMonday.MostcommontheseasonbeginsonSeptuagesima,thefirstSundaybeforeAshWednesday.InsomeplacesitstartsasearlyasTwelfthNight(January6)oreveninNovember.ThemostimportantcelebrationsaregenerallyconcentratedduringthelastdaysoftheseasonbeforeAshWednesday.EtymologyTheoriginofthenamecarnivalisdisputed.VariantsinItaliandialectssuggestthatthenamecomesfromtheItaliancarnelevareorsimilar,meaningtoremovemeat,sincemeatisprohibitedduringLent.[1]AdifferentexplanationstatesthatthewordcomesfromtheLateLatinexpressioncarnevale,whichmeansfarewelltomeat,signifyingthatthosewerethelastdayswhenonecouldeatmeatbeforethefastingofLent.Yetanothertranslationdepictscarnevaleasafarewelltotheflesh,aphraseembracedbycertaincarnivalcelebrationsthatencouragelettinggoofyourformer(oreveryday)selfandembracingthecarefreenatureofthefestival.However,explanationsproceedingfromcarnevaleseemtobefolketymologiesandarenotsupportedbyphilologicalevidence.[1]AnotherpossibleexplanationcomesfromthetermCarrusNavalis(shipcart),thenameoftheromanfestivalofIsis,whereherimagewascarriedtothesea-shoretoblessthestartofthesailingseason.[2]Thefestivalconsistedinaparadeofmasksfollowinganador