How many top Mardi Gras festivals are there in the world?

Mardi Gras is usually a Christian pre-Lenten feast of feasting and revelry, originally extending from the Feast of the Lord to the day before Lent, but now usually limited to a few days before Lent. It is prevalent in Europe and the United States.

Many countries have a traditional Mardi Gras festival, with masquerade balls, colorful parades, masks, and banquets as the main features of Mardi Gras, which originated in non-Christian festivals, such as the Greek festival of the goddess of wine, the Roman agrarian and pastoral festivals, and Celtic religious ceremonies. Although these festivals are held at different times, most of them take place in February and March.

Brazilian Carnival

The Brazilian Carnival is known as the largest carnival in the world. In Brazilian Carnival, everyone does not want to express themselves, but wants to fulfill others. There are men who want to be feminine, and normally introverted women who dance wildly, imitating the agility and power of others as best they can. Carnival is often characterized by "transvestism", which is a product of history. The Brazilian carnival's fervor for femininity is arguably unique in the world. Among Brazilian carnivals, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival is the world's most famous and fascinating.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival

Carnival is Brazil's biggest festival, but the most prestigious is that of Rio de Janeiro. The city's Carnival is one of the world's largest with the number of performers participating in the samba competition, the splendor of the costumes, the duration of the longest time, and the grandeur of the scene.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival is said to have begun in the mid-19th century. Initially, the scale of the carnival was small, limited to some indoor masquerade held by the aristocracy, people wearing masks purchased from Paris, and enjoy the fun. 1852, the Portuguese Azevedo conductor of the band took to the streets. With the fast-paced music, both black and white, poor and rich, men and women danced, and the whole city rejoiced. Azevedo's move was a huge success and a milestone in the history of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, marking it as a festival for the masses.

The Rio de Janeiro Carnival did not have a fixed venue in the earliest days, but the main streets of the city were the stage for samba performances. Because of the summer heat, the parades took place at night. From the 1970s, samba schools suggested building a samba arena in the city for Carnival activities, and in 1983, Oscar Niemeyer, a famous engineer who had designed the new capital of Brazil, Brasilia, and other projects, designed the arena himself, and 60,000 builders worked together, and in just 117 days, a samba arena that could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators was built. Since then, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival has had a permanent venue.

On the opening day of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, at the mayor's residence, handed over the golden key of the city gates to the "Carnival King," known as "King Momo," symbolizing the official start of the annual Carnival. From now on, during the week-long Carnival, the entire city of Rio de Janeiro will be "ruled" by the "Carnival King", and all the citizens will revel in the carnival in their own way.

The "King of Momo" won't actually be sitting in the mayor's office giving orders. Instead, during the city's wildest festivities, King Momo will just have to do his job by leading the crowd in a good old-fashioned dance and fun.

The "King Momo" is usually chosen by the public two months before the start of Carnival, along with a "Carnival Queen" and two "Carnival Princesses. They are the leaders of Rio de Janeiro's samba teams who take part in Carnival rehearsals and official performances, which is a tough job, but one that carries with it a great deal of honor.

Before the key handover ceremony, the "Momo Kings" were paraded through the streets in carriages with actors disguised as Brazilian royalty. This unique ceremony was held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Pedro I, Brazil's first monarch, and to add to the festive atmosphere of Carnival. At the same time, in order to allow more citizens and tourists to share the joy of the opening of Carnival.

It is said that the Rio de Janeiro Carnival began in the mid-19th century. Initially, Carnival was small and limited to a few indoor masquerades held by aristocrats, where people wore masks purchased from Paris and made merry.In 1852, bands under the direction of Azevedo, a Portuguese, took to the streets. With the fast-paced music, both black and white, poor and rich, men and women danced, and the whole city rejoiced. Azevedo's move was a huge success and a milestone in the history of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, marking it as a festival for the masses.

The Rio de Janeiro Carnival did not have a fixed venue in the earliest days, but the main streets of the city were the stage for samba performances. Because of the summer heat, the parades took place at night. From the 1970s, samba schools suggested building a samba arena in the city for Carnival activities, and in 1983, Oscar Niemeyer, a famous engineer who had designed the new capital of Brazil, Brasilia, and other projects, designed the arena himself, and 60,000 builders worked together, and in just 117 days, a samba arena that could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators was built. Since then, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival has had a permanent venue.

The samba competition is a major event of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. The arena covers an area of 8.5 million square meters, both sides of the grandstand, the middle is the samba team marching channel. Every year during the Carnival, to be held in this arena 5 samba activities, including the third and fourth day of the most exciting activities. On these two days, the city's top 14 samba schools compete to determine the year's ranking, with the top five having to perform another show.

Each samba school has between 3,800 and 4,000 people competing on the field, divided into 32 squads with eight colorful cars between them. The entries and accompanying songs have to have a storyline, and the entire team's costumes are designed to fit the show's plot. Each year, the schools come up with a variety of storylines, ranging from Indian history to Brazilian soccer to the realities of people's lives.

The prestigious Rio de Janeiro Carnival attracts a large number of foreign visitors, with about 400,000 tourists choosing this season to visit the beautiful city every year.

Carnival not only brings joy to Brazilians and attracts many tourists, promoting tourism and stimulating the economy, has become an important and indispensable part of the life of Brazilians, and has become more and more lively every year. Samba and Carnival, like soccer, have become symbols of Brazil.

Salvador Carnival

In Brazil's Carnival, the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia, is unique. Because the Bahian people do not want to market Carnival, it has been able to maintain its original flavor. In addition, Bahia is the most developed and important region in the country when it comes to music, and it is full of music and dance, which is the truest expression of Brazilian tradition and the spirit of Carnival. Salvador's Carnival 'king' deposed for leanness

Carnival in the Amazon jungle

Palintins, a small Brazilian city of 90,000 people on the banks of the Amazon River, has a few days each year when tourists from all over the world, equal to the number of people in the region, are excited to visit, booking their reservations up to a year in advance. The hotels are here because of Boi Bamba, a carnival with a strong Amazonian flavor.

Carnival in Santiago de Cuba

Every year, from July to August, grand carnival events are held throughout Cuba. Locals say the festival is linked to a piece of history: in 1953, Castro took advantage of the laxity of enemy guards at Carnival to lead more than 100 youths in an attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago. From there, the spark of the Cuban Revolution was ignited.

During this period, one of the main streets in the city was completely transformed into a carnival venue. The street is lined with stalls, most of which are beer stalls, followed by food stalls. Drinking beer is a "must" for people attending the carnival. The "whole roasted pig" is one of the unique sights of the carnival.

The government takes five days off for Carnival, and in addition to the "food" and "fun" parts of the carnival, the frenetic dancing and music starts after 9 p.m. every day, and the most lively part is the last few days of the carnival, including colorful parades and all-night revelry, and other activities.

Havana Carnival

The parade of floats kicks off Havana Carnival, with black Cuban dancers dancing to rhythmic music. After the parade, the real festivities begin with street dancing, where everyone is the main character and the revelry continues until the early hours of the morning.

Venice Carnival in Italy

Venice in February is still winter, a little chilly, but blue skies, clear skies, no haze at all. Unlike the quiet Venice in the sound of boats and lights in the past, these days, you can hear the sound of people's clattering footsteps and happy laughter from afar. People of different colors and languages are in a hurry to the same destination - the world-famous St. Mark's Square in Venice, where the annual "City of Water" Carnival is reaching its climax.

The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and largest carnivals in the world today. Carnivals in Europe are said to have their origins in the ancient festival of Shennong. Every year, as winter turns to spring, people automatically gather together to sing and dance and celebrate the beginning of the new year's agricultural activities. The origin of the Venetian Carnival is also said: the 12th century, the ancient city-state of Venice **** and the country is growing strong. 1162 in the early spring, it won the nearby Aquileia feudal city-state, dominating the side. To celebrate this victory, the Venetians took to the streets singing and dancing for days on end. Since then, they have celebrated this time of year. More than 200 years later, in 1296, the Catholic city-state officially fixed the time of the annual festivities according to the schedule of religious festivals, starting the day before Lent, which occurs between the beginning of February and the beginning of March, and continuing for about two weeks. To the 18th century, the carnival activities were very popular, European princes and ministers, gentlemen and ladies are rushed to Venice, to watch the wonderful indoor music and theater performances, to participate in the streets and squares of the public carnival. Venice has won the title of "Carnival City". 19th century, Venice **** and the gradual decline of the country, the carnival gradually lost vitality. Until nearly 20 years ago, with the development of tourism, Venice's carnival activities to resume, Venice Carnival to shine again.

The Venice Carnival is best characterized by its masks, followed by its magnificent costumes. This tradition can be traced back to 1700 years ago. The powerful and the poor could blend together through the masks. Behind the masks, social differences are temporarily removed. The rich become poor and the poor become rich. They greeted each other with respect.

Behind the mask, age differences are eliminated, the old become young, and the young become old all of a sudden. The young and the little people dress themselves up as big people with the authority represented by the masks. And the old man tries very hard to make himself look young, even the more ignorant and stupid the better; a man can become a woman, and a woman can become a man.

On a normal day, Venice is always crowded with tourists. It was as if the Venetians were used to so many tourists wandering around their city. Their streets are so narrow that they can't seem to accommodate so many people. However, tourists from all over the world still come here. There is no doubt that the number of visitors increases exponentially during the Carnival period, especially during the Carnival weekend.

The Venice Carnival is usually held in the last days of winter or the first days of spring. This means that the cold temperatures force you to dress heavily to the point that it affects your mobility.

Once you enter the watery alleys of Venice and take a look at the colorful masks, there's probably no one who won't be attracted to the watery city in the midst of the carnival. Masks of all colors are a big feature of the Venice Carnival, and they look a bit like Peking Opera faces to the Chinese. The streets are full of hooked face people singing and dancing, as if staging a big show, this is the Venice Carnival to the reporter's impression. There are countless mask stores in the streets of Venice, each with its own specialties, some collecting fashionable cloaks, some specializing in high top hard hats, and some demonstrating the craft of mask making on the spot. "Masks can be as simple as painting on your face or as elaborate as papier-maché, fabric, porcelain, glass or even plastic, and they **** all share the same characteristics of exaggeration, flamboyance and theatricality that will dazzle you and make you lose track of where you are.

People who come to visit the carnival cross the alleys and bridges and converge on St. Mark's Square from all directions. It has become a showcase for masks and costumes, with many people dressed from head to toe, some as 17th-century aristocrats and others as movie characters. This reporter saw a lady dressed as a noble lady, and tried to ask her about the origin of this outfit, but she did not understand much Italian, it seems to be a foreign tourist, specially to the Water City to join in the fun.

12:00 noon, the large St. Mark's Square was tens of thousands of people came to the carnival crowded, dressed in ancient costumes of the honor guard to the front of the Grand Duke's House, some people dressed as ancient Venetian dignitaries on the podium, St. Mark's Church bells ringing, the host announced that the Venice Carnival officially began, the square resounded with thunderous applause. At this time, is located in the square on the central side of the 100-meter-high bell tower, the world's women's fencing gold medalist, the Italian fencer Frida dressed as an angel, silver, swinging wings, slowly from the sky, to bring people good wishes.

People in disguise strolled around the square, attracting the attention of those who came and went to take photos. An Italian woman dressed in 18th-century clothing, holding a fan. She told reporters that she is a native of the island of Venice, the costume she has been used for several years, the price is about 2,000 euros. Most of these people are just like actors and actresses, who enter into different roles depending on their attire. They are mysterious to outsiders, they don't speak, you can only see their uncovered eyes, and it's hard to tell what they really are. This entertaining game lasts for more than 10 days, and then the people take off their masks to reveal their true forms and return to themselves.

Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival is Europe's largest street culture and arts festival, held annually in the Notting Hill area of West London, England. Most of the black residents of the Notting Hill area are not from Africa, but from other parts of the Caribbean or Latin America. It is the Notting Hill immigrant culture nurtured the Notting Hill Carnival. 1960s, gathered in the Notting Hill area of the West Indies immigrants due to homesickness and organized the Carnival, then only a small group of people dressed in national costumes, beating steel drums in the street to walk around only. Decades later, it has grown into a multicultural festival on a grand scale and one of London's hottest tourist attractions.

Of all the carnivals in the world, the Notting Hill Carnival is second only to the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Notting Hill Carnival has always been known for its strong Caribbean flavor. In terms of costumes and masks, the Notting Hill Carnival is like a strange and gorgeous masquerade; in terms of music, steel drum bands, calypso songs, and soca music are the soul of the Notting Hill Carnival. The strong rhythm of the steel drums is enough to make the heartbeat immediately speed up with the beat; Calypso songs are often improvised according to the latest current affairs and social hotspots to change the lyrics, but the lyrics and songs of humor and irony of the nature of the unchanged.

Cologne Carnival

The Cologne Carnival is the most festive carnival in Germany. Second only to the Brazilian Carnival, it features clowns and maniacs, whose grotesque costumes and carefree demeanor make the crowds scream.

Viva K?ln (K?lle Alaaf), a slogan used every year at the start of the carnival, is chanted punctually. It culminates in the Fool's Hour, a carnival parade on the Monday before Lent. This is the moment when people chant "Cologne stand up", "Sugar" and "Flowers". In this lively and extraordinary activities, people cheered, indulge, the Rhine River is full of laughter and song.

Cutting ties is a unique custom of the Cologne carnival. In the "Women's Carnival Night" on that day, German girls with large scissors in the street patrol, eyeing, waiting for an opportunity to move, looking at which man is not good is a click. Locals are familiar with this custom, this day are dressed in civilian clothes, confused to suffer mostly foreigners, especially the airport around the Cologne area are hanging everywhere to cut the tie. It is said that a Chinese actor was once chased down a dozen streets by several German women with shears! But there are also a lot of men who deliberately buy some broken or even paper ties to go out on the streets and enjoy the taste of flirting with a young girl of their age.

On the morning of Rose Monday, the parade, the highlight of the carnival, begins. People walk in groups drinking beer, playing accordions, wearing colorful costumes and bizarre masks. The police on the side of the road also changed their usual majesty and let the girls cut colorful lip marks on their faces. In the vast parade, there were thousands of performing teams, each with their own bands, floats and unique costumes, which were a sight to behold. The floats feature a variety of models, many of today's leaders, with Bush, Pupkin, Saddam and Bin Laden often chosen for mockery. As the floats traveled, thousands of spectators on the sidewalks chanted "Give me candy," and chunks of chocolate, candy and countless flowers rained down from the floats. Children, with a large cloth pocket hanging from their chests, pick up the candies desperately on the ground, while adults leap up to intercept large chocolates from the air. Some people simply hold an umbrella or a hat upside down, in a short while has been full of. The party lasted for five hours, and the Germans, who are usually so strict, finally went crazy on this day.

Interestingly, the total length of the Cologne Carnival parade route is 7 kilometers, while the length of the procession is 6.5 kilometers. That means that from the beginning to the end of the parade route is filled with people, cars and horses participating in the parade. Although the total duration of the parade is 5 hours, spectators often arrive at the site already 2 or 3 hours in advance in order to force a good spot. So standing out in the open for seven or eight hours in February, when it's still chilly, is no easy task, not to mention the fact that many people don't leave right after the parade, but rather join open-air carnivals, dance in bars, or mingle with the crowds as they roam the streets until midnight.

Midnight the next day, Tuesday, brings the carnival to a close. People take down the figures representing the carnival that are hung on the doors of restaurants and taverns and burn them, thus declaring "Ash Wednesday" and the end of the carnival.

German Sigmaringen Carnival

Held in February, in Germany, in addition to Christmas, the biggest holiday is afraid to count the carnival. 18th century, the end of the French army occupied Germany, the local carnival has a new meaning, which became the civilian population against the military oppression of the way to get angry and opportunity. People mocked all those who wore military uniforms and organized parades, in which the participants wore strange uniforms, carried wooden lances, and engaged in armed training, and people deliberately acted crazy while dancing and did some hilarious antics.

Germany's Dusseldorf Carnival

Germany's Dusseldorf Carnival is one of Europe's most well-attended and lively carnivals. Thousands of parades and millions of visitors*** enjoy the delicious beer and fun atmosphere, shouting, laughing, clowning, dancing and, if you can't stand the cold outside, going to the pubs to party hard.

Belgium Banche Carnival

Banche is located in the central Belgian province of Hainaut, about 56 kilometers from the capital Brussels. The carnival, held in February every year, attracts French, German and Dutch people from the neighboring countries. The festival's symbolism is similar to that of the Chinese New Year, which marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new. Funny clowns "Rilak" is the main character of the carnival parade, they pedal 4-inch thick wooden shoes, wearing red and yellow tights, head a meter long colorful ostrich feathers, in the clanging and bright drums, stepping out of the Belgian folk enthusiastic and joyful dance. King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium visited the carnival of the new millennium in Banche, a move that made headlines in the Belgian media the next day.

By tradition, drinks and beer are served free of charge in all the stores in Banche on Carnival day. There are no nationalities, no colors, just revelry, indulgence and joy. The highlight of the carnival is the orange toss, where clowns hold bamboo baskets in their hands and scatter golden oranges, which symbolize good luck and are said to bring good fortune to those who receive them. Greetings of "good luck", laughter and screams of the people turned the quiet old town of Banshee upside down.

In November 2003, the Banche Carnival was inscribed on UNESCO's "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity". It is one of four European masterpieces of intangible heritage, the other three being puppetry in Sicily, Italy, cross-shaped folklore in Lithuania and mystery plays in Spain.

Nice Carnival in France

To honor tradition and keep up with the times, each Nice Carnival since the 1950s has had a theme, with concepts such as circus, clowning, food, laughter, madness, love, the 20th century, the new millennium and Europe all providing inspiration for the carnival and a stage for artists to use their imaginations.

The Carnival is the highlight of Nice's winter season and a major investment for the city. The parade of floats interspersed with colorful cars and the beautiful girls on the floats throwing flowers to the visitors are one of the main features of the Nice Carnival, and the bill for the flowers alone is a huge sum of money.

With this annual carnival, Nice, which is full in the summer thanks to its beaches and sunshine, has no shortage of excitement in the off-season.

Carnival in Gran Canaria, Spain

Participation of the crowds and the selection of the "queen" are two of the main features of Carnival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. People work feverishly months in advance to select the ideal "queen", and in February, when the carnival officially begins, all the people join in the sea of joy and dance salsa and merengue to the accompaniment of national and international bands.

Carnival of Nizza, Italy

The Carnival of Nizza, Italy, dates back to 1294 and is the oldest carnival in Europe, running from the end of January to the middle of February, during which time, no matter when you visit, it is a sea of color, flowers, fireworks, theatre and music.

Locals enjoy skating on the Rideau Canal, which becomes a skating path. In February, Ottawa's Winter Carnival is held here.

Ottawa Winter Carnival

Winter Carnival is held in many parts of Canada every year. It starts on the first weekend of February and lasts for two weeks. During the carnival, a wide variety of recreational and sporting events are held, all centered around the theme of snow and ice. Canada's capital city of Ottawa and Quebec City, capital of Quebec Province, held the largest winter carnival, the form and content is also the most distinctive.

The Ottawa Winter Carnival, which began to be officially held in 1979, is designed to get people out and about as much as possible during the long winter months and to interact with others, thus enriching people's winter lives, fostering a culture of snow and ice, attracting more foreign visitors and promoting local tourism.

New Orleans' Fat Tuesday

If Dusseldorf's Mardi Gras isn't enough for you, head to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday, the most festive day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Mardi Gras "kings" lead the two main parades through the streets, you want to participate in the field lasts all day carnival, you have to make up, if you can make friends with the local people, let them help you design a most distinctive regional attire, you can participate in the festivities that only the locals can participate in, if your friends can If you have friends who can take you there, you're sure to have the Carnival of Orléans to remember for the rest of your life.

Bolivian Oruro Carnival

Bolivian Oruro Carnival is one of the most distinctive carnivals in the continent of South America. During the week-long revelry, people dress up in gaudy costumes and dance the Ghost Dance in the streets, reveling in a special way that goes beyond just the triumph of good over evil, and combines the cultures of religion and tradition, of Christianity and Hinduism.

Ghost dance costumes are distinctively designed and made, and have developed into a major art form in Oruro. There are a number of Ghost Dance clubs, each with around 40-300 members, and each club relies on entrepreneurs to fund the costumes as they can cost hundreds of dollars each. People start rehearsing for the dance months before Mardi Gras.

Dominican Carnival

Carnival in the Dominican **** and country has retained some of the characteristics of the Spanish colonial period, in addition to showcasing the island's black African culture, and in recent years it has gained increasing attention from the world. The costumes, masks, make-up, singing, dancing and music are all fascinating.

Trinidad Carnival

This Caribbean island's carnival begins in February and lasts for more than a week. The festivities include musical performances and a national music competition, a masquerade ball, and the selection of the "king" and "queen" of the parade, who dance and sing into the wee hours of the morning.

Colorful feathers, mud and oils are all used in Carnival costumes, which are exchanged in the early morning hours of the second day as the parade draws to a close. There is no set parade route for the colorful floats, which are scattered throughout the city.

Uruguayan Carnival

A participant walks and dances in heavy make-up during the opening parade of Carnival in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, Jan. 30, 2004, in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguay's Carnival, which will last for more than a month, is the longest-running carnival in the world.

A participant dances to the rhythm of the black music "Candomblé" during the Carnival in Montevideo, Uruguay, February 6, 2004, in the Uruguayan capital.

Mardi Gras in Israel

March 4-5, 2007 is the traditional Jewish festival of Purim. During Purim, Israelis participate in carnival parades wearing exaggerated costumes and masks, which is why Purim is also known as Israel's Mardi Gras.

Greek Galaxidi Carnival

On March 13, 2005, people reveled in Galaxidi, a small town about 300 kilometers from the Greek capital Athens. The day was the first Monday after the official end of the Greek Orthodox Carnival, also known as Clean Monday. Every year on Clean Monday, Galahidi holds a unique carnival. The revelers are concentrated in the streets on the northern shore of the harbor, and whether they know each other or not, they attack each other with flour spiked with all kinds of natural pigments, as a way of expressing their blessings to each other, similar to the Water Festival in Thailand.