Carnival

The festive season of Carnival occurs immediately before Lent during February  and is by definition a public celebration combining parades with themes such as circus and masquerades in public streets.

Mainly Carnival is celebrated by Roman Catholics , two of the most famous are the Brazilian Carnival of Rio De Janeiro and the Italian masked Carnival of Venice . Carnival traditions  are based on the Lenten period from the Gospel , where people would hold no parties ,celebrations .and fast by not consuming any rich foods such as dairy's,fats ,meats and sugars.This would last for forty days and after that time the whole community would throw a huge Carnival party.Whilst Carnival forms part of the history of the Roman church , some traditions do date back to the ancient Roman festivals called Saturnalia and Bacchanalia and have been Incorporated into the Venetian masked  Carnival.

Perhaps the best known traditions include  carnival parades ,  and  masquerade masked balls which were first recorded in medieval Italy in the Carnival of Venice .these themes quickly spread to Portugal,Spain and France and then on to Germany.

The term Carne vale is Latin for "farewell to meat" which explains the fasting for Lent  Alternatively it could be translated to "farewell to the flesh" which is a motto embraced by many as an encouragement to let go of your everyday self and embrace the carefree nature of the festival.

The first Carnival of Venice was recorded in 1268, although it was restricted by church laws forbidding the wearing of masks , a main feature of the Italian Carnival .Venetian masked  Carnival was stopped altogether after its fall to Austria in 1798 , until its revival in the 20th century .

There are two main Italian Festivals , the first is Carnival of Viareggio .which is characterised by its parades and floats . The carnival of Ivrea has a famous battle of the oranges where people have a food fight in the streets with citrus fruits.

In summary Carnival stretches across the world to every country and religion who adapt it to suite there customs , with the most famous being the Venetian Carnival.

If you would like to see our great range of Venetian masks visit www.venetianmasquerademasks.co.uk