(Redirected from Fasching)
:''This article describes the festival season. In North America, carnival also refers to a
funfair. For other uses, see
Carnival (disambiguation).''
'Carnival' or 'Carnivale' is a festival season. It occurs immediately before
Lent; the main events are usually during February or March. It typically involves a public
celebration or
parade combining some elements of a
circus and public street party. People often dress up or
masquerade during the celebrations.
Carnival is mostly associated with
Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent,
Eastern Orthodox Christians;
Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions, like the
Danish Carnival. The world's largest carnival celebration is held in
Pernambuco and
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil but many cities worldwide have large, popular celebrations.
Length and individual holidays
Depending on the area, the carnival may last from a few weeks to several months. While its starting day varies, it usually ends on the day before
Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of
Lent. In
Ambrosian rite, the carnival ends on the Saturday after Ash Wednesday.
Most commonly the season begins on
Septuagesima, the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday, but in some places it starts as early as
Twelfth Night or even in November. The most important celebrations are generally concentrated during the last days of the season.
The following holidays, which are all part of the seven days before Ash Wednesday, often have special customs:
★
Fat Thursday, when according to many traditions preparations for the parties are made, such as baking goods;
★
Quinquagesima, the Sunday, when often a break from the festivities occurs;
★
Shrove Monday or Lundi Gras or
Rosenmontag, in many areas the high point of the festivities;
★
Shrove Tuesday or
Mardi Gras or
Fastnacht, the high point of the festivities in other areas.
History
Cigarron is a traditional character of north-west of Spain.
Inspiration for the carnival lies in the fact that during Lent, traditionally no parties may be held and many foods, such as meat, are forbidden; the forty days of Lent serve to commemorate the
Passion of Jesus. It is natural for people to have the desire to hold a large celebration at the last possible opportunity before
fasting.
Parts of the carnival traditions, however, likely reach back to pre-Christian times. The ancient Roman festival of the
Saturnalia is a probably origin of the Italian carnival. The Saturnalia, in turn, may be based on the Greek
Dionysia and Oriental festivals. While
medieval pageants and festivals such as
Corpus Christi were church sanctioned celebrations, carnival was a representation of medieval folk culture. Many local carnival customs are also based on local pre-Christian rituals, for example the elaborate rites involving masked figures in the
Swabian-Alemannic carnival.
In Christianity, the most famous traditions, including
parades and
masquerading, are first attested from medieval Italy. The
carnival of Venice was for a long time the most famous carnival. From Italy, carnival traditions spread to Spain, Portugal, and France. From France, they spread to the
Rhineland of Germany, and to
New Orleans. From Spain and Portugal, they spread to Latin America. Many other areas have developed their own traditions.
Name
The origin of the name "carnival" is disputed. According to one theory, it comes from the
Latin ''carrus navalis'' ("ship cart"),
[1] referring to a cart in a religious parade, such as a cart in a religious procession at the annual festivities in honor of the god
Apollo. Other sources, however, suggest that the name comes from the
Italian ''carne levare'' or similar, meaning "to remove meat", since meat is prohibited during Lent.
[2] Another theory 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.
Special celebrations around the world
Cities noted for elaborate Carnival celebrations:
★
Recife,
Rio de Janeiro,
Salvador,
Olinda and
São Paulo in
Brazil
★
Cayenne,
French Guiana
★
Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
Cádiz,
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,
Laza,
Xinzo de Limia and
Sitges in
Spain
★
Venice in
Italy
★
New Orleans,
Brooklyn,
Mobile, and
San Francisco in the
United States
★
Gualeguaychú in
Argentina
★
Sydney (
Mardi Gras) in
Australia
★
Aalst,
Binche,
Eupen,
Hasselt, and
Malmedy in
Belgium
★
Ivrea in
Italy
★
Basler Fasnacht,
Basel,
Switzerland
★
Barranquilla and
Pasto in
Colombia
★
Santiago in
Cuba
★
Guayaquil,
Quito and
Salinas in
Ecuador
★
Aalborg in
Denmark
★
Nice and
Dunkirk in
France
★
Cologne (
Kölner Karneval),
Düsseldorf, and
Mainz in
Germany
★
Luzern in
Switzerland
★
Patras in
Greece
★
Darjeeling (
Carnival) and
Goa in
India
★
Valletta in
Malta
★
Rijeka in
Croatia
★
's-Hertogenbosch,
Maastricht and
Rotterdam in the
Netherlands
★
Ovar in
Portugal
★
Strumica in the
Republic of Macedonia
★
Ptuj in
Slovenia
★
Caribana in
Toronto Canada
★
Port of Spain in
Trinidad and Tobago
★
Montevideo in
Uruguay
★
Nadur in
Gozo,
Malta
Europe
German speaking areas
The ''Council of Eleven'' is a German Karneval tradition.
, especially the western part (
North Rhine-Westphalia and
Rhineland-Palatinate) is famous for 'Karneval' celebrations such as parades and costume balls. Whilst these events are widespread in places such as
Krefeld,
Aachen,
Mönchengladbach,
Duisburg,
Bonn,
Eschweiler,
Odenheim and
Cleves, only
Cologne,
Düsseldorf,
Mainz are called carnival "strongholds" in the public media.
In the East and South of Germany and Austria carnival is called 'Fasching' and especially
Munich developed a special kind of celebration.
In
Franconia and the southwest-parts and also some other parts of Germany a carnival is called 'Fastnacht'.
Although the festival and party season in Germany starts as early as the beginning of January, the actual carnival week starts on the Thursday ("Altweiberfastnacht") before
Ash Wednesday. German Carnival parades are held on the weekend before and especially on ''Rosenmontag'' (Rose Monday), the day before Shrove Tuesday, and sometimes also on Shrove Tuesday ("Faschingsdienstag") in the suburbs of larger carnival cities. The carnival session begins each year on
11 November at 11:11 a.m. and finishes on
Ash Wednesday. Most festivities happen around ''Rosenmontag''; this time is also called the 'Fifth Season'.
Rhineland
In the
Rhineland festivities developed especially strongly, since it was a way to express subversive anti-
Prussian and anti-French thoughts in times of occupation, through parody and mockery. Modern carnival there began in
1823 with the founding of a Carnival Club in
Cologne.
Today all Carnival Clubs are assembled in the ''German Carnival Association''. Most cities and villages of the Rhineland have their own individual Carnival traditions. Nationally famous is the
Carnival in Cologne (Köln), Duesseldorf and Mainz.
In the Rhineland, the Carnival season is considered to be the "fifth season of the year", starting at November 11th at exactly 11.11 a.m. Carnival clubs organize "sessions" which are show events called ''Prunksitzung'' with club members or invited guests performing dance, comedy and songs in fancy dresses.
The main event is the street carnival that takes place in the period between the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and Ash Wednesday. Carnival Thursday is called "Altweiber" (''old women'') or "Wieverfastelovend" (''The women's day''). On the following days, there are parades in the street organized by the local carnival clubs. The highlight of the carnival period however is Rose Monday. Rose Monday is not a national bank holiday in the Rhineland but it is in reality because most of public life comes to a rest and almost all firms are closed and shops are only open in the morning or not at all. The biggest parades are on Rose Monday, the famous "Rosenmontagszug" (Rose Monday Parade), eg. in Cologne, Dusseldorf and many other cities. During these events, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate in the streets at low temperatures, most of them dressed up in fancy clothes.
Alemannic Fastnacht
Main articles: Fastnacht
The "
Swabian-
Alemannic" carnival begins on
January 6 (
Epiphany/
Three Kings Day). This celebration is known as ''
Fastnacht''. Variants are ''Fasnet'', ''Fasnacht'' or ''Fasent''. Fastnacht is held in
Baden-Württemberg, parts of
Bavaria, and
Alsace.
Switzerland and
Vorarlberg, in
Austria, also hold this celebration. The festival starts on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, known in these regions as ''Schmutziger Donnerstag'' or ''Fettdonnerstag''. In
standard German, ''schmutzig'' means "dirty", but actually the name is from the local dialect where ''schmutzig'' means "fat"; "Greasy Thursday". Elsewhere the day is called "Women's Carnival" (''Weiberfastnacht''), being the day when tradition says that women take control. In particular regions of Tyrol, Salzburg and Bavaria traditional processions of the
Perchten welcome the springtime. The ''Schönperchten'' ("beautiful Perchts") represent the birth of new life in the awakening nature, the ''Schiachperchten'' ("ugly Perchts") represent the dark spirits of wintertime. Farmers yearn for warmer weather and the ''Perchtenlauf'' (Run of Perchts;
typical scenery) is a magical expression of that desire. The nights between winter and spring, when evil ghosts are supposed to go around, are also called ''Rauhnächte'' ("rough nights").
Mask of an "ugly Percht"
England
In
England Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as ''
Pancake Day'', but apart from the serving of pancakes and occasional
pancake races and
football matches (see
Royal Shrovetide Football), little else of the Lent-related Carnival survived the
Reformation. Instead the traditional British Carnivals (notably the
West Country Carnival tradition) take place later in the year. Their main focus is a large procession made up of floats, which often takes place after dark. The largest of these is the
Bridgwater Carnival in Somerset, which claims to have the largest illuminated procession in the world. The Bridgwater carnival is believed to be the largest illuminated carnival in Europe, if not the world. It was first modernised in 1881 and was originally lit by lamps; electric lights were first introduced in 1913
Bridgwater carnivals now consist of a display of over 100 large vehicles up to 100 feet long, festooned with dancers and up to 22,000 lightbulbs, that follows a 2.5 mile route over two to three hours. There are seven routes which include Wells, Shepton Mallet, Burnham on Sea, Glastonbury, Bridgwater and Weston Super Mare. These draw crowds of people who come to watch with no charge. There are collections at each of the carnivals and thousands of pounds are raised for local charities. Each float (cart) has a different theme and these themes vary from cowboys and indians to Robots. Is often known as the "Hidden Gem" of Somerset. All the money used to put the event on comes from fundraising by members of Carnival Clubs these clubs have different names such as Wick CC, Mendip Vale CC, Gremlins CC, Shambles CC and Griffins CC and come from different local towns each member having to pay money to be a part of one of these clubs.
Also in London a large Caribbean influence has led to the establishment of several "West Indian" carnivals, such as
Notting Hill Carnival in August.
Netherlands
In the
Netherlands where it is called 'Karnaval', 'Carnaval', 'Vastenavond' or 'Vastelaovend' the last day of Carnival, the day before
Ash Wednesday, is held exactly 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. Dutch Carnival is most celebrated in Catholic regions, mostly the southern provinces
Noord Brabant and
Limburg, where it is also known as Vastenavond or Vastelaovend (literally "Fasting evening", although that strictly refers only to the last day, whereas Carnaval in the Netherlands usually begins on the Saturday before
Ash Wednesday). The most popular places where Carnival is held (although every city, town or village celebrates it) are
Maastricht,
Roermond,
Venlo,
's-Hertogenbosch,
Bergen op Zoom,
Eindhoven and
Breda. Carnival here has been celebrated ever since mediaeval times and was modernised after
WW II, when
Bergen op Zoom even continued to celebrate it indoors. However, it is the most southern province of The
Netherlands,
Limburg, where many Dutch go to celebrate it. During the event, every town is one big party.
During Dutch Carnival, many traditions are kept alive. First of all is the parade with dressed-up groups, musicians and elaborately built show-vehicles. Also traditions include a fake ''prince'' plus cortège ('Council of 11'), the ''boerenbruiloft'' (farmer's wedding) and the ''haring happen'' (eating herring) on Ash Wednesday. However, the traditions vary from town to town.
There are three types of Carnival celebrated in The Netherlands. The best known variant is known as the ''Rijnlandsche Carnival'' and it shares many folklore traditions with its German and Belgian counterparts.
Maastricht is famous not so much for its parades but for its street carnival, with elaborate costumes that people work on all year, a bit like the South American style, but with a strong accent on humour, and not unlike
Italian, mostly
Venician, traditions, culture and costumes. The third variant can be found in
's-Hertogenbosch,
Breda,
Steenbergen and
Bergen op Zoom. The Carnival in Den Bosch is known as the oldest in the Netherlands. Several paintings of the world famous
Jheronimus Bosch, who lived in the city in the 15th century, are based on the carnival festivities in the city during the Middle Ages. The oldest known Carnival festivities in 's-Hertogenbosch date from 1385. In 1882 De Oeteldonksche Club was founded to secure the future of Carnival in 's-Hertogenbosch. The Carnival of Bergen op Zoom shares most traditions with 's Hertogenbosch and very few traditions and folklore with the rest of the Netherlands and they have celebrated it in their specific way ever since
1839.
Summer Carnival
Rotterdam (''since 1984'') and Arnhem (''since 2001'') celebrate every year
Brazilian carnival at the end of July. With 900,000 (''2006'') and 120,000 (''2006'') visitors, both events increase in popularity.
The Rotterdam carnival includes a yearly Queen and best brass band election in the week before the event.
Greece
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
Greek Orthodox Great Lent, which falls between February to March. It is a ‘gran spettacolo’ that lasts three days and finishes on
Clean Monday.
Also in many other regions festivities of smaller extent are organized, focused on the reenactment of traditional customs. Other important carnivals in Greece are these in
Kozani (
West Macedonia),
Rethymno (
Crete) and in
Xanthi (
East Macedonia and Thrace).
Cyprus
Limassol holds the largest annual carnival in the island of
Cyprus. The Lemesos (Limassol) Carnival is an important institution; a tradition for the Limassolians, which remains alive and will survive throughout times. It is a festivity so much expected desperately by everybody, thousands of children, younger and adults from all the free parts of Cyprus. Even the foreigners, who happen to be here during this period of the year or live permanently on the island, are passionate to expect it. When the word Carnival is pronounced, it reminds us Limassol, as simple as that, which is quite justified, because this is where the Carnival King appeared for the very first time and made its first move; the roots of this festivity are deep here. Lemesos (Limassol) Municipality has realized how needful is to organize regularly and properly the Carnival festivities considering them amongst its yearly events. It has therefore become the pioneer in organizing these festivities and today we have reached an era where the Carnival fiesta is organized in the best way compared to the previous years.
The Municipality is the official vehicle and organizer of a series of festive Carnival events. These events start on the Shrove Thursday with the Carnival King entering the town in a festive atmosphere, then the children’s parade, the various Serenaders’ shows and finally the Grand Carnival Parade which takes place on the last Sunday of the Carnival festivities. The Municipality in its capacity of the administration authority of the town plays for years a pioneer role in organizing and coordinating the Carnival festivities, relying upon the Limassolians’ interest and why not all those people’s who wish to participate in the Lemesos (Limassol) Carnival. Over the last couple of years, the main aim is the biggest possible participation of the Limassolians in these festivities. A second objective is to bring back elements, which are related to the identity of the traditional Carnival as the Limassolians remember it and have experienced it in the past.
Considering all the above-mentioned, Lemesos (Limassol) Municipality tries to introduce essential changes in the structure of the Carnival festivities which have then proved quite successful, especially with the massive participation of the inhabitants indeed. In a few words, the Serenaders’ shows take place at the central key points of the town like the Heroon Square, the Medieval Castle Square, the Market Square, the Irenes Street Park etc. The children’s parade takes place at the city centre, along the coastal street in front of the knoll, so that the public may participate directly as easy as possible. The traditional Tuesday dance is organized on the Medieval Castle Square and many people in fancy dresses participate to enjoy a special razzle-dazzle.
The participation of a remarkable number of groups of people walking and dancing along the streets has been achieved beyond the satiric and artistic floats, which proceed within the framework of the Grand Carnival parade. It has been an element that was totally absent over the last years. At the same time, it has been managed that many groups of Serenaders lead successfully up to the Grand Carnival Parade and then come all the floats and the groups of people walking and dancing in the streets in the sounds of a unique music. Finally, special consideration has been given to the decoration of the town. All the places where festivities are planned as well as the central key points of the town are decorated in an as ingenious way as possible.
Italy
The carnival in
Venice was first recorded in
1268. The subversive nature of the festival is reflected in the many laws created over the centuries in Italy attempting to restrict celebrations and often banning the wearing of
masks.
Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival; traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of ''Santo Stefano'' (
St. Stephen's Day,
December 26) at the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. As masks were also allowed during
Ascension and from
October 5 to
Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise. Mask makers (''mascareri'') enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own
guild.
In
1797 Venice became part of the Austrian-held
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia when Napoleon signed the
Treaty of Campo Formio. The Austrians took control of the city on
January 18,
1798 and it fell into a decline which brought carnival celebrations to a halt for many years. It was not until a modern mask shop was founded in the 1970s that a revival of old traditions began.
In
Milan the Carnival lasts four more days, ending on the Saturday after
Ash Wednesday, because of the
Ambrosian rite.
Malta
''Main Article'':
Maltese Carnival
Carnival in
Malta (known as ''Karnival'') was first was introduced in 1535 by
Grand Master Piero de Ponte, five years after the
Knights took over the islands. The main celebration takes place in the capital,
Valletta, but in every town and village many people, mostly children, dress up in colourful clothes to camouflage their identity. The Valletta parade includes the King Carnival
float followed by about a dozen others. Until some years ago, Carnival was also the event of the year for dances and masked balls. Under the rule of the Knights, the Auberges were left open and were delightfully decorated.
Carnival in Malta is somewhat very popular. By time popularity is increasing and peoples participation in the events is also at an increase. In Malta carnival is usually held in the first weeks of March.
Portugal
Carnival in Portugal is celebrated throughout the country, the most famous are the ones of
Loule,
Madeira,
Podence,
Ovar, and
Torres Vedras. The one from Podence has 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 Latin musical elements.
Russia
Maslenitsa (, also called ''Pancake Week'' or "Cheese Week") is a
Russian folk holiday that incorporates some traditions that date back to pagan times. It is celebrated during the last week before the
Great Lent; that is, the seventh week before the
Easter. Maslenitsa is a direct analog of the
Roman Catholic Carnival. Maslenitsa has a dual ancestry:
pagan and
Christian. The essential element of Maslenitsa celebration are
bliny, Russian pancakes, popularly taken to symbolize the sun. Round and golden, they are made from the rich foods still allowed by the Orthodox traditions:
butter,
eggs, and
milk.
Maslenitsa also includes
masquerades, snowball fights, sledding, swinging on swings and plenty of sleigh rides. The mascot of the celebration is usually a brightly dressed straw effigy of ''Lady Maslenitsa'', formerly known as
Kostroma. As the culmination of the celebration, on Sunday evening, ''Lady Maslenitsa'' is stripped of her finery, and put to the flames of a
bonfire.
In
Saint Petersburg the modern celebration of the festival is organized by the city to fall on a fixed date annually (at Sunday, closest to May 27th).
Spain
Arguably the most famous locales in
Spain are
Sitges,
Vilanova i la Geltrú,
Tarragona and specially
Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
Cádiz,
Laza (an ancestral carnival celebration),
Xinzo de Limia (the most longer carnival in Spain) and
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where the celebration normally takes place the week before
Lent.
At Santa Cruz de Tenerife the parties of the cities are not only well known in
Spain, but also worldwide. It is famous for thematic costumes, and the election of the Carnival Queen. There is also a parade of Drag-Queens, known as ''reinonas''.
Sitges: This Carnival is one of the most important Carnivals in the autonomous community of
Catalonia. Folk dances and xatonades (traditional local salad of Sitges, served with assorted omelets) are also characteristic elements of the carnival. The two most important moments in the carnival of Sitges are the Rua de la Disbauxa, or the Debauchery Parade, on Sunday night and the Rua de l‘Extermini, or Extermination Parade, on Tuesday night. Some forty-odd floats with more than 2,500 participants parade in Sitges. The carnival of Vilanova i la Geltrù is very important because of Les Comparses (on Sunday), in which good-humoured rival groups throw boiled sweets (candies) at each other.
In
Tarragona is found one of the most complete ritual sequences of the Catalan carnivals. The events start with the building of a huge barrel and end with its burning together with the effigies of the carnival King and Queen. On Saturday, the main parade takes place. There are masked groups, zoomorphic figures, music and percussion bands, and traditional groups with
fireworks (the devils, the dragon, the ox, the female dragon). Carnival groups stand out for their splendid clothes full of elegance and of brilliant examples of fabric crafts at the Saturday and Sunday parades.
Carnival of Cádiz
In
Cádiz everyone wears a costume, which is 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 is the sharp criticism, the funny play on words and the imagination in the costumes, more than the glamourous dressings. It is traditional to paint the face with lipstick as a humble substitute of a mask.
A choir singing in the Carnival of
CádizThe 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 train for the whole year. There is an official competition in Teatro Falla, where they comepte for the award to the group. The music of the songs is written by each group. Each chirigota has a wide repertoire of satirical lyrics.
The Choirs (''coros'') are wider groups that go on open carts through the streets singing with a little orchestra of guitars and lutes. Their characteristic composition is the "Carnival Tango", and they alternate comical and serious repertory.
The comparsas are the serious counterpart of the chirigota in Cádiz, and the poetical lyrics and the criticism are their main ingredients. They have a more elaborated
polyphony, being easily recognizable by the typical
countertenor voice.
Poland
In
Poland the traditional way of celebrating the Carnival is ''
kulig'', a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow-covered countryside. The Polish Carnival Season includes
Fat Thursday (
Polish: ''Tłusty Czwartek'') - a day for eating ''
pączki'' - and ''Śledziówka'' (
Shrove Tuesday), or Herring Day. The Tuesday before Lent begins is also a holiday called Ostatki, which is translated as the "lasts," meaning the last day to party before the Lenten season.
Hungary
In
Mohács in
Hungary, the
Busójárás involves locals dressing up 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
Ottomans.
Czech Republic
In the
Czech Republic, the
Masopust festival takes place from
Epiphany (''Den tří králů'') until
Ash Wednesday (''Popeleční středa''). The word ''masopust'' translates literally from old
Czech to mean "goodbye to meat" and the festival often includes a pork feasts in preparation for Lent. The tradition is most common in
Moravia but does occur in
Bohemia in communities like
Žižkov in
Prague. While tradition varies from region to region, masks and costumes are present everywhere.
Slovakia
In
Slovakia, the
Fašiangy (''fašiang'', ''fašangy'') takes place from
Three Kings' Day (''Traja králi'') until the midnight before the
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 has to cease for the
Lent.
Slovenia
The festive year of the
Slovenes is extraordinarily rich and diverse. A great deal of national legacy has been preserved within widely attended tourist events.
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, yet fluffy mask. The most significant ethonological Carnival festival is traditionally held in annually in the town of
Ptuj (see:
Kurentovanje). The special feature of the event of
Ptuj itself and its surrounding area are the very Kurenti, magical creatures from the other world, who visit all major events throughout the country, the members of the parliament, the president and the mayors, trying to banish the winter and announce the arrival of the spring, fertility and new life with loud noise and dancing. The origin of the Kurent is a mystery, not much is known of times and beliefs nor the purposes of its first appearance. The origin of the name itself is obscure.
Another town, equal in importance to
Ptuj, where the carnival tradition is evolving in all its might, is
Cerknica. Carnival is heralded by, with a whip, a traditional mask called “Poganjič”. In the carnival procession, organised by the “Pust society”, a monstrous witch Uršula is driven from Mt. Slivnica, to be burnt on the stake on
Ash Wednesday. Unique to this region is a group of dormice, driven by the Devil and a huge cave dragon spitting fire.
Cerknica and its surrounding area is known for the "Laufarji" (the chasing men), Carnival figures with artistic masks.
Mačkare from Dobrepolje used to represent triple character: the beautiful and the ugly (among which the most important represented by an old man, an old woman, a humpback and a Corant) and the noble (imitating the urban elite).
The major part of the population, especially the young and children, enjoy dressing up as ordinary non-ethnical masks, going to school, faculties, work and organized events, where the best and most original masks are awarded. Dressed up children go from house to house asking for a treat.
Croatia
The
Croatian city of
Rijeka has a long and rich tradition of celebrating the time of the Carnival (Croatian: "karneval", but the period is also often called "maškare"). During the Carnival the mayor of Rijeka hands over the keys of the city to the master of the Carnival ("meštar od karnevala") and the spirit of the Carnival takes over completely. There are many festive events during the Carnival, and the culmination of them all is the famous masked procession held on the last Sunday of the Carnival. The procession is international, and there are participants from many different countries. There are many viewers and there are big tents put up in the city with food, drinks and music. There is also a masked procession for children, held on the Saturday of the week before the main procession.
Although the Carnival of Rijeka (Riječki karneval) is the most famous of all such manifestations in Croatia, most towns and villages of the Croatian Primorje region (the northern seaside region, also called
Kvarner) observe the Carnival period in some way, and many areas of Primorje have their own special traditions (eg. "maškaroni" in the Novi Vinodolski area). The Carnival is a time filled with local traditions so the entire region enjoys a much higher than usual amount of exposure to local food, local music and the local non-standard variety of the
Croatian language: "čakavština"(just about everything about "karneval" is handled speaking in "čakavština").
Just before the end of the Carnival and the beginning of
Lent, every town in the region of Kvarner burns its own man-like doll, called "mesopust" or shorter "pust", which is "blamed" for all the bad events of the previous year and given an ironic name, usually alluding to
politics.
One of the most famous traditions of "karneval" are "zvončari" (bell-ringers). Some of them are also called "dondolaši". They take part in many of the period's festivities and "zvončari of Halubje" are the last group of the main procession of the Carnival of Rijeka. They are men with loud bells attached to them, thick pieces of wood in their hands, sailor T-shirts and some kind of head regalia. The kind of head regalia they wear depends on where they are from - those from Halubje, who are the most renowned, wear large heads, reminiscent of animal heads, and those from Zamet, for example wear large cone-shaped regalia covered with floral decorations. The tradition of "zvončari" is a long-standing one and started many centuries ago when men ritually tried to scare winter away with animal-like "heads" and ringing bells loudly in a manner which was meant to induce fear.
The population enjoys the many concerts and parties of the period, sporting many various non-traditional masks. Most schools allow students and faculty to be masked for a day, and elementary schools organize dances. Masked children go trick-or-treating. The traditional Carnival food, such as "fritule", is eaten.
Although the Carnival traditions of Kvarner are the most renowned ones, there are other Carnival traditions and manifestations in Croatia, most notably those of "poklade" and "fašnik", pertaining to regions in inner Croatia. The most notable are the festivities of the area of the town Samobor.
Latin America
Bolivia
One of the most vibrant carnivals in South America is ''La Diablada'' carnival, which takes place in the city of
Oruro in central
Bolivia. It is celebrated in honor of the patron saint of the miners, ''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 conquerors. The parade runs from morning until late at night, 18 hours a day, on the Saturday and Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
Uruguay
The Carnival in Montevideo is the longest of the world, with more than 40 days of celebration. Murgas, Lubolos, Parodistas and other groups sing and dance, as a popular opera, in February through mid March.
Brazil
An important part of the Brazilian Carnival takes place in
Rio de Janeiro, with ''samba schools''. These are large, social entities with thousands of members and a theme each year. Some of the most important "samba schools" are Portela, Mangueira, Beija-Flor and Mocidade Independente. ''Blocos'' are small informal groups also with a definite theme, usually satirical of the current political situation. There are more than 30 ''blocos '' in Rio de Janeiro. ''Bandas'' are samba musical bands, usually formed by enthusiasts in the same neighborhood.
In 1982, the former governor of
Rio de Janeiro,
Leonel Brizola, created the ''Sambódromo'', a purpose-built parade route complete with bleachers on either side, where the parades happened since then.
From
Salvador,
Bahia another form of the Brazilian Carnival, the ''
Trio Elétrico'', has spread throughout the country. ''A trio elétrico'' is an adapted truck, with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play songs of local genres such as
Axé music,
Samba-reggae ,
Pagode and
Arrocha. The truck is driven around the city with the crowd following dancing and singing. It was originally staged by three Salvador musicians, Armandinho, Dodo & Osmar, in the
decade of 1950.
Pernambuco has large Carnival celebrations, including the
Frevo, typical Pernambuco music. Another famous carnaval music style from Pernambuco is
Maracatu. The cities of
Recife and
Olinda hold the most authentic and democratic carnaval celebrations in Brazil. The largest carnaval in all of Brazil is 'Galo da Madrugada', which takes place in downtown Recife in the Saturday of carnaval. Another famous event is the "Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos".
French Guiana
The Carnival of
French Guiana is a major aspect of the culture of that country. Although its roots are in the
Creole culture, everyone participates — mainland French, Brazilians (Guiana has a frontier with Brazil) and Chinese as well as creoles.
Its duration is variable, determined by movable religious festivals: 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 thythm of the masked balls and street parades. Normal life slows almost to a stop.
Friday afternoons are the time for eating ''galette des rois'' (the cake of kings) and drinking champagne. The cake may be flavoured with
frangipani,
guava, or
coconut.
On Sunday afternoons major parades are staged in the streets of
Cayenne,
Kourou, and Saint-Laurent du Maroni. Competing groups prepare for months. Dressed according to the agreed theme of the year, they strut along with carnival floats, drums, and brass bands.
Brazilian groups are also appreciated for their elaborate feathered and sequined costumes. However, they are not eligible for competition since the costumes do not change from one year to the next.
Certain mythical characters appear regularly in the parades:
★ ''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 and their bodies smeared with grease or molasses. These men deliberately try to come in contact with spectators, soiling their clothes.
★ ''Les makoumés'': Men in drag (out of the 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 of this version of carnival is the so-called touloulous. These are women wearing highly decorative gowns, gloves, masks and headdresses which cover them completely so that they are not only unrecognisable, but the colour of their skin cannot
even be determined. On Friday and Saturday nights of carnival, touloulou balls are held in so-called ''universities'' — in reality, large dance halls that only open in carnival time. Touloulous get in free, and are even given condoms in the interest of the sexual health of the community. Men also attend the balls, but they have to pay admittance and they are not disguised.
The touloulous pick their dance partners, who may not refuse the dance. Thus, the setup is designed to make it easy for a woman to create a temporary liaison with a man she fancies in total anonymity. Undisguised women are not welcome at the balls. By tradition, if one gets up to dance, the orchestra stops playing. Alcohol is served at bars — the disguised women also pick up men by whispering to them ''touloulou thirsty'', at which a round of drinks is expected, to be drunk through a straw so as not to unmask in the slightest.
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.
The final four days of carnival have a rigid tradition of celebration, and no work is done at all.
★ Sunday: The Grand Parade, in which the competing groups show off their very best.
★ Monday: Marriage burlesque, with men dressed as brides and women as grooms.
★ Tuesday: Red Devil Day, with everyone wearing red or black.
★ (Ash) Wednesday: Dress is black and white only, for the grand ceremony of burning the effigy of Vaval, the King of the Carnival.
''[This text relied principally on text in
The French wikipedia''
Panama
The Panamanian Carnival is one of the biggest festivities in the world. Starting at Friday and lasting until the
Ash Wednesday is celebrated almost in all the country. It is specially popular because the luxurious and magnitude of the
Las Tablas Carnival as well with the carnivals in almost all Azuero. Also is popular because the great number of concerts in the
Panama City.
Mexico
In
Mexico, specifically in the state of
Veracruz, Carnival is celebrated with traditional music and dances. People dress in bright, feathered costumes and do their performances on the streets. It is sometimes compared to the carnaval of
Rio de Janeiro or
New Orleans.
Caribbean Carnival
Most of the islands in the
Caribbean celebrate Carnival. The largest and most well-known celebration is held in
Trinidad and Tobago.
Haiti,
Antigua,
Aruba,
Barbados,
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
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.
Antigua Carnival
The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of music and dance held annually 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 bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as Caribana. The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations, which are otherwise largely based on the Trinidadian Carnival. The Antiguan carnival is the 2nd best Carnival of the caribbean right after Trinidad. The carnival consists of mas playing, steel pan music and various shows such as calypso shows and pageants.
Trinidad and Tobago
In Trinidad & Tobago, Carnival is a holiday season that lasts over a month and culminates in large celebrations in
Port of Spain which is the capital of Trinidad, on the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before
Ash Wednesday with Dimanche Gras,
J'ouvert, and Mas (masquerade). Tobago's celebrations also culminates on Monday and Tuesday but on a much smaller scale in its capital Scarborough. Carnival is a festive time of costumes, dance, music, competitions, rum, and partying (also referred to as fete-ing). Music styles associated with Carnival include
soca,
calypso, and
steel pan.
The annual Carnival
steel pan competition known as the National Panorama competition is held in the weeks preceding Carnival with the finals held on the Saturday before the main event. Pan players compete in various categories such as "Conventional Steel band" or "Single Pan" by performing renditions of the current year's calypsos. Preliminary judging of this event for "Conventional Steel Bands" has been recently moved to the individual pan yards where steel bands practice their selections for the competition.
"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 bestowed. Also the King and Queen of the bands are crowned, where each band to parade costumes for the next two days submits a king and queen, from which an overall winner is chosen. These usually involve huge, complex, beautiful costumes.
J'ouvert, or "Dirty Mas", takes place before dawn on the Monday (known as Carnival Monday) before Ash Wednesday. It means "goodbye to the flesh" or "welcome to daybreak" (depending on the interpretation). Here revelers dress in old clothes and cover themselves in mud, oil paint and body paint. A common character to be seen at this time is "Jab-jabs" (devils, blue, black or red) complete with pitch fork, pointed horns and tails. Here also, a king and queen of the J'ouvert are chosen, based on their representation of current political/social events/issues.
Carnival Monday involves the parade of the mas bands, but on a casual or relaxed scale. Usually revelers wear only parts of their costumes, and the purpose of the day is more one of fun than display or competition. Also on Carnival Monday, Monday Night Mas is popular in most towns and especially the capital, where smaller bands participate in competition.
Carnival Tuesday is when the main events of the carnival take place. On this day full costume is worn complete with make up and body paints/adornments. Each band has their costume presentation based on a particular theme, and contain various sections (some consisting of thousands of revelers) which reflect these themes. Here the street parade and eventual crowning of the best bands take place. After following a route where various judging points are located, the mas bands eventually converge on the Queen's Park Savannah to pass "on the stage" to be judged once and for all. Also taking place on this day is the crowning of the Road March king or queen, where the singer of the most played song over the two days of the carnival is crowned winner, complete with prize money and usually a vehicle.
This parading and revelry goes on into the night of the Tuesday. Ash Wednesday itself, whilst not an official holiday, is marked by most by visiting the beaches that abound both Trinidad and Tobago. The most populated being Maracas beach and Manzanilla beach, where huge beach parties take place every Ash Wednesday. These provide a cool down from the previous five days of hectic partying, parades and competitions, and are usually attended by the whole family.
Colombia
Although Carnival was introduced by the Spaniards and has incorporated elements from the
European cultures, it has managed to re-interpret traditions that belonged to the
African and
Amerindian cultures of
Colombia. There is documentary evidence that Carnival existed in Colombia in the 18th century and had already been a cause for concern for the colonial authorities, who censored the celebrations, especially in the main political centres such as
Cartagena,
Bogotá and
Popayán.
The Carnival, therefore, continued its evolution and re-interpretation in the small and at that time unimportant towns where celebrations did not offend the ruling elites. The result was the uninterrupted celebration of Carnival festivals in
Barranquilla (see
Barranquilla Carnival), in other villages along the lower
Magdalena River in northern Colombia, and in
Pasto,
Nariño (see
Blacks and Whites Carnival) in the south of the country. In modern times, there have been attempts to introduce Carnival in the capital, Bogotá, in the early 20th century, but it has always failed to gain the approval of authorities. The
Bogotá Carnival has had to wait until the 21st century to be resurrected, this time by the authorities of the city.
Honduras
In
La Ceiba in
Honduras, Carnival is held on the third Saturday of every May to commemorate
San Isidro. It is the largest Carnival celebration in
Central America.
Nicaragua
In the Caribbean coast of
Nicaragua, in the city of
Bluefields, the ''carnaval'', better known as Palo de Mayo (or Mayo Ya!), is celebrated every day of May.
In the Nicaragua's capital city,
Managua, it is only celebrated for 2 days. The ''carnaval'' in Managua is named ''"Alegria por la vida"'' translated to ''"Joy for Life"'' and features a different theme each year.
North America
Canada
The
Quebec City Winter Carnival is the biggest winter-themed carnival in the world. It depends on good snowfalls and very cold weather, to keep snowy
ski trails in good condition and the many
ice sculptures intact. For this reason it does not observe the lunar based Easter celebration but is fixed instead to the last days of January and first days of February of the solar calendar. It has lots of amusing winter games.
United States
Carnival celebrations, usually referred to as Mardi Gras, are common in the
Gulf Coast area of the
Southern United States. They originated in the onetime French Colonial capitals of
Mobile, Alabama;
New Orleans, Louisiana; and
Biloxi, Mississippi, all of which have celebrated for many years with street parades and masked balls. The best-known, most elaborate, and most popular events are in New Orleans, while other South Louisiana cities such as
Lafayette,
Mamou, and
Houma are the site of famous Carnival celebrations of their own. Major Mardi Gras celebrations are spreading to other parts of the Southern United States, such as the Mississippi Valley region of Saint Louis Missouri.
The West Indian American Day Carnival held each
Labor Day in
New York City is known as the largest street festival in America. Multiple other cities host smaller West Indian carnivals throughout the United States.
Mexico
Carnival is celebrated in some Mexican cities, notably
Merida in the
Yucatan Peninsula,
Mazatlan and
Veracruz.
Australia
In
Australia exist
sports carnivals which combine an introducing clubs parade with the competitions.
Funfairs
Many carnivals also have an associated
funfair (or fun fair) with a number of
amusement rides and side stalls. In America a smaller or non-permanent funfair is called a
carnival in contrast to the permanent
amusement park.
See also
Circus (performing art).
See also
★
Traveling carnival
★
Antigua Carnival
★
Carnivalesque and
Grotesque body
★
Fair
★
Collective Effervescence
★
Costume party
★
Mardi Gras
★
Mardi Gras in Mobile
★
Basler Fasnacht
★
careto
★
Festy cock
References
★ 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
★
Catholic Encyclopedia, ''Shrovetide''
1. Reichman, Ruth. Karnival, Fastnacht, Fasching
2. Online Etymology Dictionary
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
