While the main purpose of this festival is to chase away winter, the origins of carnival traditions are lost in the mists of time. From Europe to South America, via Africa and North America, Carnival has pretty much become universal. Here's our selection, entirely arbitrary, but with a festive 200%!
Brazil: 4 crazy days in Rio
This is undoubtedly the craziest and most colorful of all. An orgy of feathers, sequins and frenzied rhythms. It's said that Carioca takes two things very seriously: soccer and Carnival. Historically, the latter is the heir to Amerindian, European and African contributions, and was born in the early 19th century.e century. The peak of the festival takes place from Saturday to Tuesday, and over these four days, a wind of madness blows through hot Rio. On Saturday, the blocos, The streets of every corner of the city are invaded by these small neighborhood ensembles. Sunday is the big day for samba school parades. The next day, dance groups from the Nordeste and other regions of Brazil take over the neighborhoods. And finally, on Tuesday, it's time for the glitter and feathers of the big companies and their richly decorated floats: the «alégorias».
Carnival gives blocos and samba schools the opportunity to showcase not only their year's work, but above all the talent of new generations. The final «battle» between the best schools takes place in the Sambodrome, the work of Oscar Niemeyer, the architect who designed Brasilia. The only one of its kind in the world, it is lavishly decorated for the occasion and can accommodate over 100,000 people. Some schools parade through the ‘Sambodrome’ for more than two hours. All along the way, judges, who are not known until the last minute to avoid corruption, grade the schools according to strict criteria.
Binche: the king of carnivals
Belgian carnival dates back to the Middle Ages. The festivities begin six weeks before Shrovetide, with soumonces and balls. Shrove Saturday is reserved for children. Shrove Sunday is the most colorful day, the day of masquerade costume. The following day is for young people and children: from 10 a.m., they dance to the sound of viols, followed by confetti fights, and at 3 p.m., all the costumed children join together to form the «Rondeau de l'amitié». The day ends with a grand fireworks display. No gille would miss Tuesday: throughout the morning, gilles, peasants and fantasy societies (Harlequins and Pierrots) join the Grand-Place. The procession - where the gilles wear their ostrich feather hats and throw oranges - starts at 3pm and ends with a rondeau. At around 8pm, the evening procession follows the same route by the light of Bengal fires. The baskets are empty and the Gilles have taken off their hats. At nightfall, the Grand-Place is set ablaze by a grand finale firework display.
www.carnavaldebinche.be
Venice: festivities on land and water
What better setting for Carnival than the majestic city of Venice? Here, the origins of Carnival go back at least as far as the Middle Ages. Abolished by Napoleon, who feared its subversiveness, it was officially reborn in 1980. Today, it attracts tens of thousands of people every year. Some of the traditions of the Middle Ages have returned, such as the musicians, acrobats and jugglers who perform in the squares and alleyways. Another typical Carnival feature is the balls held in the most beautiful palaces. Costumes evoke the fashions of the 17e and 18e centuries. They are available from Venetian workshops that still work the old-fashioned way.
It all starts with a night-time nautical parade on the Cannaregio canal and a daytime parade on the Grand Canal. On the Saturday before Shrove Tuesday, the ‘Festival of the Maries’ elects the city's most beautiful woman, in traditional costume of course. The ‘Flight of the Angel’ is the event that dates back to the 16th century.e The Carnival begins with a guest, now Mary of the previous year, suspended in the sky from the campanile in Piazza San Marco. Other eagerly-awaited festivities follow: the ‘Flight of the Eagle’, where this time it's a celebrity who soars from the bell tower of the Basilica; competitions for the most beautiful costumes; concerts and shows of all kinds...
On Shrove Tuesday, crowds flock to St. Mark's Square to celebrate this unique Carnival one last time. At the end of the day, the ‘Flight of the Lion’ signals the end of the festivities: the Venetian flag is lowered in great pomp from the spire of the campanile.
London: tropical carnival
In the 1950s, immigrants from Trinidad and Jamaica got into the habit of gathering in the warehouses of North London to dance and play percussion. The party then spilled over into a small procession through the streets. Today, the Notting Hill Carnival, which is directly inspired by the biggest carnival in the West Indies and the Caribbean - that of Trinidad - is celebrated on the last weekend of August. Year after year, it has become one of the biggest carnivals in the world. More than two million people take to the streets in a frenzied atmosphere, dancing to a jumble of music with spicy tempos and warm, sunny Caribbean rhythms. Another special feature is that it takes place in the middle of summer, at the end of August.
Dunkerque: don't you have a hundred balls?
While Carnival often lasts less than a week, Dunkirk's lasts almost... two months! If we go back to the origins, we find the fishermen before their departure for a long campaign in the Icelandic Sea: we let off steam before several months at sea. Gradually, the feasts evolved into costume parties. It was only a matter of time before this tradition became intertwined with that of a carnival, and this was crossed with the birth of the «Visscherbende», the fishermen's band, a sort of crazy procession that winds its way through the streets of the port city every year. Since then, the fishermen's gang has been emulated, and today every corner of the Dunkirk conurbation has its own, often taking place on a Sunday. In the meantime, the gang has evolved into a long, winding, undisciplined parade in which people, in successive lines, hold each other by the elbows. Disguises are multicolored, and men often disguise themselves as women. Another essential element: the umbrella mounted on a long handle, a sign of recognition for the companies. From time to time, a «ruckus» interrupts the march, and the group tightens up to hold its line, threatened by the push of neighbors. At the end of the band, the carnival-goers gather in a square for the «rigodon», a very physical moment, as an hour of heckling gets underway.
And then there are the balls, of which there are hundreds! And here again, it's nothing like a traditional ball: you «dance» around a central bandstand, to the sound of an orchestra conducted by the drum major in his Napoleonic grenadier costume. The atmosphere at a ball is simply fabulous: all genres intermingle in a spirit of boundless fun. The joyful, generous spirit of the locals shines through more than ever. After the festivities, it's traditional to dine on onion soup. Often, private individuals open their doors to the merrymakers who wish to dine. These are known as «chapels». During the "Trois Joyeuses", around Shrove Tuesday, many people feast day and night, alternating between bands and balls. The Dunkirk Carnival is at its peak. Another no less picturesque tradition is that of the town's mayor, who throws smoked herring from his balcony to the cheering crowd. In short, from January to March, there's a lot of fun to be had in the Nord!
www.dunkerque-tourisme.fr, www.ville-dunkerque.fr
Tenerife: Brazil in Santa Cruz
Rhythm, color, unrestrained luxury and, of course, lots of spectacle. The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival, the most «Brazilian» of all those held in Spain, enjoys an international reputation that makes it one of the most popular in the world. For two weeks, joy, freedom and imagination take over the streets of this Canary Island town.
One of its highlights is the Holiday Queen gala, usually held on the Wednesday of the first week of the festivities. In this spectacular pageant brimming with glamour, On Friday, the candidates parade on a 1,200-square-meter stage, dressed in grandiose, incredibly fanciful costumes that can weigh over a hundred kilos. After the election of the queen, on Friday the «Cabalgata» (parade) takes place, heralding the start of Carnival: thousands of people and dozens of musical groups roam the streets for hours, forming an indescribable multicolored snake of jubilation and casualness. For the next three days, music and joie de vivre take over the city, while the various «carnavaleros» reflect social and political reality with a great sense of humor in the lyrics of their witty and ironic songs. Carnival Tuesday is the high point of the festivities: the «Coso», a grand parade of floats that arouses the admiration of all spectators. The next day, the Sardine Funeral heralds the end of the festival: the Carnival spirit, represented by the sardine, is carried through the streets in a carriage, then finally condemned to the flames, to the grief of the accompanying procession of weeping widows, widowers and whiners. The final farewell, however, only takes place at weekends, during the «Piñata Chica» celebration, with a succession of shows, folk dances and parades.
https://carnavaldetenerife.com
Cologne: a 2000-year-old carnival
In Germany, some consider Carnival to be a fifth season. And indeed, in Cologne, preparations begin as early as November! The history of this carnival, practically born at the same time as the city, is particularly rich. In its current form, it dates back only 180 years, directly inspired by the famous Carnival of Venice. Over time, it became more structured, with the addition of the notion of «Held Karneval», today's Prince Carnival. The «Festordnende Komitee» (Festivities Committee) was founded in 1823, and since February 10 of that year, the Rose Monday parade («Rosenmontag») and the enthronement of the Carnival Prince have been the highlight. Over the years, the festival has spread over several days, attracting hundreds of thousands of people each time. Today, there are over 150 carnival associations in the city, frantically preparing for the big event at more than 500 meetings, organizing balls and processions. Women have their carnival on Thursday (when they have every right, including cutting men's ties), local residents and schoolchildren on Sunday, but the «Rosenmontag» remains THE magic day. It's the day of the great parade through the town: colorful floats are escorted by bands of musicians and caravanners dressed as clowns, princesses, pirates, superheroes... Chocolates, candies and flowers are thrown to the cheering crowd.
www.koeln.de/tourismus/karneval.
