Do you know how Carnival is celebrated in Italy and the world? 2017/02/28

Do you know how Carnival is celebrated in Italy and in the world?

Carnival is a period of festivities and many put in second place the real meaning of this celebration. Carnival is a religious Catholic party; it means ‘carem levare’, ergo, eliminate the meat, and indicates the possibility of celebrating the last day “available” (Carnival Tuesday) before Ash Wednesday, which decrees the beginning of the Lent Fast and until Easter.

In Venice, Italy, a typical majestic masquerade is carried out, and in Viareggio, since 1873, allegoric carts march past decorated with scenarios and characters made of Mache paper with themes related with current events, satire and fairytales. These parades also take place in many other cities and small towns of the Italian territory.

Sanremo’s parade incorporates a theme that changes every year where the carts are entirely decorates with flowers.

In Ivrea, near Torino, Italy, the Battle of the Oranges, is the most painful one! It is about the people’s revolt against the Royal troops to defend the city from the tyrant Ranieri de Biandrate, who claimed the right of a young bride’s “wedding night”, therefore this event is recreated where the people rebelled throwing oranges to the soldiers.

Russia has an orthodox religion and celebrates the Maslenitsa party, linked to the Lent Fast, during which dairy and eggs are prohibited. The Maslenitsa is the last chance to enjoy these foods with your loved ones.

In Latin-American countries, Carnival closes a period of festivities that starts after the Epiphany. Along the streets there are parades which are documented since 1699 and imported by European settlers. The traditional colors are purple which represents justice, green for faith and golden that invokes power.

But the most famous Carnival is the one of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here, the Catholic religion is profoundly felt, and the magnificence of the celebrations previous to Lent has been recognized by the Government as a “cultural expression”. In the 19th Century, the bourgeoisie imported the tradition of dances and masquerades of Europe. Later on a group of people started to march along the streets playing and dancing, and finally the city was divided by districts and they “challenged” each other by dancing.

In 1987, the permanent Sambadrome was inaugurated (it first was a structure that had to be assembled and disassembled every year), and architectonic construction of 700 m in length surrounded by steps for the spectators along the Marquès Sepucaì Avenue.

During four nights of competitions, the best samba schools compete all year long to prepare the parades, dances and choreographies. Besides the dancers, there are costume designers, choreographers, musicians, etc.… The winning school acquires prestige according to the LIESA (Independent League of Samba Schools in Rio de Janeiro) and wins the opportunity of opening the competition the year after.

How do you celebrate Thursday and Tuesday Carnival?

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