Carnival

Germania 40: mox vehiculum et vestis et, si credere velis, numen ipsum secreto lacu abluitur – "Afterwards the car, the vestments, and, if you like to believe it, the divinity herself, are purified in a secret lake.

[42] Gradually, ecclesiastical authority began to realize that the desired result could not be achieved by banning Carnivals, which eventually led to a degree of Christianization of the traditions.

Continuously in the 18th and 19th centuries CE, as part of the annual abuse of the Carnival in Rome, rabbis of the ghetto were forced to march through the city streets wearing foolish guise, jeered upon and pelted by a variety of missiles from the crowd.

In São Nicolau, three groups, Copa Cabana, Estrela Azul, and Brilho Da Zona, construct a painted float using fire, newspaper for the mold, and iron and steel for structure.

Calypso tents, also originating in Trinidad, feature cadres of musicians who perform biting social commentaries, political exposés or rousing exhortations to "wuk dah waistline" and "roll dat bumper".

In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on the east side of the country, tropical weather allows a Brazilian-type Carnival, with Comparsas dancing traditional songs in matching uniforms.

The first expression of this festivity took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1641, with the préstitos, very similar to musical processions that were held on public streets when John IV of Portugal was crowned King.

A truck with giant speakers and a platform, where musicians play songs of local genres such as Axé, samba-reggae, and Arrocha, drives through town with a crowd following while dancing and singing.

Documentary evidence shows that Carnival existed in Colombia in the 18th century and had already been a cause for concern for colonial authorities, who censored the celebrations, especially in the main political centres such as Cartagena, Bogotá, and Popayán.

Alcohol is served at bars – the disguised women whisper to the men "touloulou thirsty", at which a round of drinks is expected, to be drunk through a straw protect their anonymity.

Beautiful costumes, floats, Rara festival parades,[105] masks, foods, and popular rasin music (such as Boukman Eksperyans, Foula Vodoule, Tokay, Boukan Ginen, and Eritaj) and kompa bands (such as T-Vice, Djakout No.

[129] Customs originated in the onetime French colonial capitals of Mobile (now in Alabama), New Orleans (Louisiana), and Biloxi (Mississippi), all of which have celebrated for many years with street parades and masquerade balls.

[146] Starting in 2013, the Slovenian-American community located in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood of Cleveland began hosting a local version of Kurentovanje, the Carnival event held in the city of Ptuj, Slovenia.

[149] Traditionally formed by men and now starting to be open to women, the different Carnival groups (Murgas, Lubolos, or Parodistas) perform a kind of popular opera at the tablados, singing and dancing songs that generally relate to the social and political situation.

[citation needed] European archetypes (Pierrot, Harlequin, and Columbina) merge with African ancestral elements (the Old Mother or Mama Vieja, the Medicine Man or Gramillero and the Magician or Escobero) in the festival.

Other cities have their own, often less well-known celebrations, parades, and parties, such as Aachen, Bonn, Worms am Rhein, Speyer, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Duisburg, Dortmund, Essen, Mannheim, Münster, Krefeld, Ludwigshafen, Mönchengladbach, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Munich, and Nuremberg.

Best known of these is the Ragoutsária (Ραγκουτσάρια)[191] festival in the city of Kastoria whose celebration may date back to antiquity and whose name derives from the Latin word rogatores 'beggars', in reference to the beggars who could mingle with the rich in their masks.

[192] Carnival season called "Farsang" in Hungarian happens between Epiphany (January 6) and Shrove Tuesday and is the time when costume parties traditionally take place, primarily for children (similar to Halloween).

Annually hosting a cavalcade with roughly 1,200 participants and thousand of celebrants, the official name is Karneval Gemeng Péiteng or "Kagepe" (the initials in Luxembourgish are pronounced "Ka", "Ge" and "Pe").

[citation needed] Carnival in the Netherlands is called Carnaval, Vastenavond ("Eve of Lent") or, in Limburgish, Vastelaovend(j), and is mostly celebrated in traditionally Catholic regions, particularly in the southern provinces of North Brabant and Limburg, but also in Overijssel, especially in Twente.

[216] The Strumica Carnival (Macedonian: Струмички Карневал, translated Strumichki Karneval) has been held since at least 1670, when the Turkish author Evlija Chelebija wrote while staying there, "I came into a town located in the foothills of a high hillock and what I saw that night was masked people running house–to–house, with laughter, scream and song."

[citation needed] In the Northern region of Podence, children appear from Sunday to Tuesday with tin masks and colorful multilayered costumes made from red, green and yellow wool.

[citation needed] Over the five weeks, men prepare large masked heads and women raise funds to pay for two mannequins that will be sacrificed in a public bonfire.

The Slovenian countryside displays a variety of disguised groups and individual characters, among which the most popular and characteristic is the Kurent (plural: Kurenti), a monstrous and demon-like, but fluffy figure.

Its special feature are the Kurents themselves, magical creatures from another world, who visit major events throughout the country, trying to banish the winter and announce spring's arrival, fertility, and new life with noise and dancing.

The festivities end on Ash Wednesday with elaborate funeral rituals marking the death of King Carnival, who is typically burned on a pyre in what is called the "burial of the sardine" (enterrament de la sardina), or, in Vilanova, as l'enterro.

It adopts an ancient style in which satire, the grotesque body[4] (particularly cross-dressing and displays of exaggerated bellies, noses, and phalli), and, above all, active participation are valued over glamorous, media-friendly spectacles that Vilanovins mock as "thighs and feathers".

On Saturday, the King's procession and his concubines scandalize the town with their sexual behavior; the mysterious Moixo Foguer (Little-Bird-Bonfire) is shown accompanied by the Xerraire (jabberer), who try to convince the crowd about the wonders that this mighty bird carries in a box (which ends up being in fact a naked person covered in feathers);[249] and other items such as: sport acts and barbecues in the streets; the talking-dance of the Mismatched Couples (Ball de Malcasats); the children's King Caramel whose massive belly, long nose and sausage-like hair hint at his insatiable appetites; or the debauched Nit dels Mascarots dance.

The King's body is carried to the Plaça de la Vila where a satiric eulogy is delivered while the townspeople eat salty grilled sardines with bread and wine, suggesting the symbolic cannibalism of the communion ritual.

In addition, many other festive, cultural and musical activities of all ages take place, such as an epic battle of confetti and flour, funny karaoke contests or the so-called "Entierro de la Sardina" (Burial of the Sardine).