Carnival

A carnival parade is a public celebration, combining some elements of a circus and public street party, generally during the carnival season.

The Carnival season refers to a specific holiday, celebrated after Christmas, in mid-winter or early spring, ending on Shrove Tuesday, just before the Catholic holy period of Lent or, even, on Pinata Weekend, the first saturday and sunday of the Lent. The Carnival season is sometimes known by the French term for the day of Carnival, Mardi Gras.

Places especially noted for elaborate Carnival celebrations include Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia[?] in Brazil, Venice in Italy, New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama in the USA, Trinidad and Santa Cruz de Tenerife[?] and Cádiz in Spain.

In England the leading carnivals are Notting Hill Carnival in August (reputedly the World's largest), and Bridgwater in November.

In Germany Cologne, Duesseldorf, Mainz and Munich are well-known for their Carnival celebrations, parades and costumed balls which, particularly in southern Germany are called Fasching.

Carnival is also celebrated in the southern (i.e. Catholic) provinces of the Netherlands Noord-Brabant and Limburg.

When Lent has finished, the saturday that follows the Holy Week, it´s celebrated a similar festival in Murcia, Spain, called the Sardine´s Funeral Parade, symbolizing the end of the period when it was mandatory only eat fish and vegetables.

See also Mardi Gras, List of festivals

External Link

• Pinata (http://www.tapf.org/RanchoSB/english/cultncomm/recreation/pinata/pinata.htm).

Fun fairs

A temporary (often annual) amusement park with mobile rides etc. is called a fun fair (also written funfair) or carnival.

Netherlands

• Leiden, 2 and 3 October
• Tilburg, one week in summer [1] (http://www.tilburgwest.com/fair2002)

See also Circus (performing art).