O Carnival is one of the most popular festivities in the Brazil. It takes place between February and March and is well known for its lively and festive nature.
During carnival, the streets all over the country receive revelers in costume – or not – in search of joy and fun.
The origin of this festival dates back to Antiquity, when different peoples held celebrations, generally aimed at gods.
As it is, at its root, a party of pagan origin, the carnival was initially despised by the Catholic church.
However, when faced with the influence of this festivity in the lives of Europeans, the Church decided to add carnival to the calendar of Christian festivals.
It would then be a way for people to celebrate freedom before a period of forty days marked by restrictions and seriousness, called the Lent.
Next, let's see how the carnival happened in the European continent during the Modern age.
Carnival in the Modern Age
Carnival was a party that happened all over Europe, especially in the Italy, Spain and France.
In addition to carnival, there was another festivity marked by the presence of costumed people on the streets and an abundance of drink and food, it was the Fools' party, which took place on December 28th.
The festivities could start in late December or January. In some cases, they were extended until Lent.
Carnival, in the Modern Age, did not occur at the same time or in the same way, as each region of the European continent commemorated it in some way.
Marked by the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and meat, carnival was part of the life of Europeans in antiquity.
The places where celebrations took place in France were in the Place Notre Dame and in Italy, it was in St. Mark's Square.
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THE fantasy was an important mark of these events, in addition to the use of masks, produced with a large nose.
It was common for people to change costumes, like women dressing up as men and men dressing up as women. Also, Europeans used to dress up as wild animals, priest and devil.
The squares were full of people, including the upper classes. Clubs formed by the elite, organized parades with floats, theatrical presentations and popular competitions.
The jokes and mockery were quite common in this period. people played Water in each other and jokingly imitated some profession.
The most famous mockery practiced in the Middle Ages carnival was the charivari, which was nothing more than a libel song, sung near the window of the individual who would be mocked.
In addition, it was common to have the mocked person parade riding backwards on a donkey throughout the city.
Generally, the "victims" of the charivari they were individuals considered “threatening” to community and family norms.
There are no records from the Modern Age that explain what carnival represented to Europeans. According to historians, there are two hypotheses that can explain the importance of this festivity for Europe:
- Opposition to Lent (period marked by abstinence and fasting);
- Understood within a context that was very much in force in modern Europe: “the world upside down”.
For Europeans, this phrase reflected behaviors that went against the “natural order”. That's why men dress up as animals, fathers dress up as children, women dress up as men and vice versa, among others.
Learn more at:
- 20 Best Carnival marches that never go out of style
- carnival games of yesteryear
- 25 Carnival costumes to rock on the days of revelry
- Carnival marches
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