Before the religious time of mourning called Lent, traditionally people are not allowed to have festive events or eat specific meals. Lent occurs for forty days to memorialize the Passion of Jesus. It is common for the people to celebrate before the forty days of fasting. Parts of the carnival traditions, are inspired before pre-Christian times. The ancient Roman festival of the Saturnalia is a probable origin of the Italian Carnival. The Saturnalia could be based on the Greek Dionysian and Oriental festivals. While medieval pageants and festivals such as Corpus Christi were church sanctioned celebrations, carnival was a demonstration of medieval folk culture.
Many local carnival customs are also based on local pre-Christian rituals, for example the elaborate rites involving masked figures in the Swabian-Alemannic carnival. Parading and masquerading are some of the most famous traditions in Christianity which originated from medieval Italy. The carnival of Venice was for a long time the most famous carnival.
From Italy, carnival traditions spread to Spain, Portugal, and France. From France, they spread to the Rhineland of Germany, and to New Orleans. From Spain and Portugal, they spread to Latin America. Many other areas have developed their own traditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment