Carnival

: For more meanings, please reference Carnival (disambiguation).

Origins of the Carnival season

It is sometimes said that this festival came from Saturnalia, Saturn's festival, and Lupercaliahttp://www.pelourinho.com/carnavalhistory2.html. In the later Roman period, these festivals were characterized by wanton raillery and unbridled freedom, and were in a manner a temporary subversion of civil order. Historians think that this spirit was transmitted to the Carnival.

Related Topics:
Saturnalia - Saturn - Lupercalia - Roman

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Another theory, esp. prominent in Switzerland probably predates Christianity. The festival was linked to the beginning of spring, and the idea behind Carnival was to scare evil spirits away. This is usually done with processions, where the participants wore horrible masks, and where everyone that could would make loud noises and music with whatever was available. Later on, the processions were devoted to Patron-saints, the two most prominent being the virgin Mary or the Saint the local church was christened to.

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In ancient times, carnival was held to begin on 6th January and lasted until midnight of Shrove Tuesday. Some believe that this period of license represents the kind of compromise the church tended to make with pagan festivals and that carnival really represents the Roman Saturnalia. Rome has always been the headquarters of carnival, and though some popes, notably Clement IX and XI and Benedict XIII, made efforts to stem the tide of Bacchanalian revelry, many of the popes were great patrons and promoters of carnival-keeping.

Related Topics:
Rome - Pope - Clement IX - XI - Benedict XIII - Bacchanalian

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