Saturday, February 16, 2008
Carnival Season is Here Again
By Keith Sinclair Carnival or Karnival is a festival season and occurs immediately before Lent in either February or March dependent upon the date for Easter. Typically the celebration of carnival or karnival involves public celebrations and/or parades. Carnival is a great chance for people to dress up or masquerade during these celebrations.
Carnival dates back centauries and has its foundation in the fact that during the period of Lent, many food stuffs and celebrations are forbidden. Lent itself is the period of forty days which serves to commemorate the Passion of Jesus. Given that they would be faced with a period of forty days of fasting and a more frugal lifestyle, there was a large desire to hold a celebration at the last possible opportunity.
The name Carnival or Karnival is thought to be derived from the Latin 'carnovale' meaning 'farewell to meat' which has credibility as Carnival is the traditional celebration which is held the night before the first day of Lent during which Catholics are not meant to consume meat or other animal products. The word carnovale became the name applied to the festival of using up all remaining meat and animal products before the period of fasting began. The list of food stuffs which were forbidden during the period of Lent includes eggs and it is believed to be this that is responsible for the association of eggs with Easter which is the culmination of Lent.
The first parades and mass celebration of carnival were held in Italy with the Carnival of Venice being (and remaining) the most famous. As the carnivals in Italy became more famous and knowledge of them spread, Carnival itself became more widespread. As the Spanish and Portuguese began to explore the Americas they took with them, and integrated into the indigenous population, the practise of celebrating carnival. The next major influence on carnival was the slave trade and the impact of the African culture.
African traditions of parading in circles through villages whilst wearing costumes and masks was believed to bring good fortune and drive away evil spirits returning them to the next world. Carnival has borrowed from these African traditions through the use of costumes and masks. The early costumes and masks used natural objects to create the costume/mask with each representing a spiritual force. The African influence extends to the use of drum rhythms, puppets, stilt walkers all of which are now fully integrated in Carnival.
Across the world, the celebration of Carnival is strongest where Catholic colonies were established and the slave trade entered into. It is here that carnival offered a release however fleeting. Brazil, once a Portuguese colony holds a world-renowned carnival as does Louisiana where African-Americans mixed with the French settlers and indigenous Americans. Carnival celebrations are now also integral to life across the Caribbean and this has returned to Britain by way of the world famous Notting Hill Carnival which was started by the immigrant population from the Caribbean.
The extension of carnival into a season of celebration has been mainly through Mardi-Gras. Mardi-Gras season officially starts on Twelfth Night - January 6th occurring, strangely, 12 days after Christmas with Mardi-Gras day being 46 days before Easter. Mardi-Gras is a season of parades, masquerade balls and king cake parties which begin on that date and culminate on Fat Tuesday .
This is the cross-over between Carnovale (farewell the meat) and Mardi-Gras (Fat Tuesday - from the French). Both are celebrated, in their truest sense, the day before Lent commences on Ash Wednesday. 'Fat Tuesday' and Carnovale are therefore the last opportunity to celebrate before fasting begins. Mardi-Gras and Carnovale are also known as 'Shrove Tuesday' or 'Pancake Day' (which is all that survives of Carnival following the Reformation in England).
Today the whole Carnival season is marked by celebrations, parties, dance and music. Most celebrations and parties involve the wearing of costumes usually brightly coloured.
Karnival Costumes has a fantastic range of carnival / karnival fancy dress costumes at http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/index.html which includes extensive ranges of traditional and newer style fancy dress costumes as well as a huge range of costume accessories at: http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/acatalog/Costume_Accessories_Props.html
Article submitted by: KV Sinclair. Keith Sinclair has over 35 years of business experience and in addition to being a part time University Lecturer on Business Studies, he is CEO of Cavalcade; a group of companies operating in the party sector. Cavalcade operates Karnival-House http://www.karnival-house.co.uk one of the UK's leading internet Fancy Dress Retailers. With massive stocks for immediate dispatch and an ever expanding range, Karnival-House continues to strive simply to offer outstanding service combined with outstanding value.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Sinclair
Carnival dates back centauries and has its foundation in the fact that during the period of Lent, many food stuffs and celebrations are forbidden. Lent itself is the period of forty days which serves to commemorate the Passion of Jesus. Given that they would be faced with a period of forty days of fasting and a more frugal lifestyle, there was a large desire to hold a celebration at the last possible opportunity.
The name Carnival or Karnival is thought to be derived from the Latin 'carnovale' meaning 'farewell to meat' which has credibility as Carnival is the traditional celebration which is held the night before the first day of Lent during which Catholics are not meant to consume meat or other animal products. The word carnovale became the name applied to the festival of using up all remaining meat and animal products before the period of fasting began. The list of food stuffs which were forbidden during the period of Lent includes eggs and it is believed to be this that is responsible for the association of eggs with Easter which is the culmination of Lent.
The first parades and mass celebration of carnival were held in Italy with the Carnival of Venice being (and remaining) the most famous. As the carnivals in Italy became more famous and knowledge of them spread, Carnival itself became more widespread. As the Spanish and Portuguese began to explore the Americas they took with them, and integrated into the indigenous population, the practise of celebrating carnival. The next major influence on carnival was the slave trade and the impact of the African culture.
African traditions of parading in circles through villages whilst wearing costumes and masks was believed to bring good fortune and drive away evil spirits returning them to the next world. Carnival has borrowed from these African traditions through the use of costumes and masks. The early costumes and masks used natural objects to create the costume/mask with each representing a spiritual force. The African influence extends to the use of drum rhythms, puppets, stilt walkers all of which are now fully integrated in Carnival.
Across the world, the celebration of Carnival is strongest where Catholic colonies were established and the slave trade entered into. It is here that carnival offered a release however fleeting. Brazil, once a Portuguese colony holds a world-renowned carnival as does Louisiana where African-Americans mixed with the French settlers and indigenous Americans. Carnival celebrations are now also integral to life across the Caribbean and this has returned to Britain by way of the world famous Notting Hill Carnival which was started by the immigrant population from the Caribbean.
The extension of carnival into a season of celebration has been mainly through Mardi-Gras. Mardi-Gras season officially starts on Twelfth Night - January 6th occurring, strangely, 12 days after Christmas with Mardi-Gras day being 46 days before Easter. Mardi-Gras is a season of parades, masquerade balls and king cake parties which begin on that date and culminate on Fat Tuesday .
This is the cross-over between Carnovale (farewell the meat) and Mardi-Gras (Fat Tuesday - from the French). Both are celebrated, in their truest sense, the day before Lent commences on Ash Wednesday. 'Fat Tuesday' and Carnovale are therefore the last opportunity to celebrate before fasting begins. Mardi-Gras and Carnovale are also known as 'Shrove Tuesday' or 'Pancake Day' (which is all that survives of Carnival following the Reformation in England).
Today the whole Carnival season is marked by celebrations, parties, dance and music. Most celebrations and parties involve the wearing of costumes usually brightly coloured.
Karnival Costumes has a fantastic range of carnival / karnival fancy dress costumes at http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/index.html which includes extensive ranges of traditional and newer style fancy dress costumes as well as a huge range of costume accessories at: http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/acatalog/Costume_Accessories_Props.html
Article submitted by: KV Sinclair. Keith Sinclair has over 35 years of business experience and in addition to being a part time University Lecturer on Business Studies, he is CEO of Cavalcade; a group of companies operating in the party sector. Cavalcade operates Karnival-House http://www.karnival-house.co.uk one of the UK's leading internet Fancy Dress Retailers. With massive stocks for immediate dispatch and an ever expanding range, Karnival-House continues to strive simply to offer outstanding service combined with outstanding value.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Sinclair
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