Festive customs of Mardi Gras

Carnival is a four-day festival that takes place every year in mid- to late February. The Brazilian Carnival is said to have originated in Europe in the 15th century, when the Pope ordered that the first three days of Lent be celebrated in front of the Papal Palace. The faithful sang and danced, and the whole city of Rome was immersed in a sea of joy From then on, Carnival was formalized and widely spread in Europe, and was later introduced to Brazil by the Portuguese In 1641, a procession of horses and floats was held in Salvador, thus creating the first Brazilian Carnival, and the first Carnival masquerade ball was held in Brazil in 1846. To the second half of the 19th century, with the gradual abolition of the Brazilian slave trade and the final abolition of slavery, the majority of black people cheerfully joined the Carnival parade army, accompanied by traditional African musical instruments, jumping with a strong African style of dance. 1889 Brazilian overthrow of the empire to set up the **** and the country, the Carnival from the form of the content of the new changes, the samba gradually become the protagonist of the festival. In this way, over time, gradually formed today's unprecedented non-religious national carnival activities. Although the festival is a short four-day event, as early as one or two months before the festival, Brazil's major cities and organizations from all walks of life began to prepare for the celebration. The city's main street is also early in the festive dress, high stands on both sides of the street, Rio de Janeiro Grandstand, the best box ticket price of up to more than a thousand dollars, but was snapped up early.

The four days of Carnival saw a wave of revelry sweeping across Brazil, with men, women and children dressed in red and green, in colorful costumes, singing and dancing, and spring tides breaking out into the streets. In addition to drugstores, hospitals and bars, factories were closed, stores were closed, schools were closed, and it could be said that "no one belongs to anyone, and no one can control anyone". The rich people gold and jade jewelry since not to mention, is the poor people to join in the fun also want to slightly straighten the clothes and hats, knocking the empty cans of boxes, clanking into the crowd of revelry, as if once a year not to revel in a little, tomorrow there is no good luck. People forget the rich and poor, forget the sorrow and worry, forget the tension and fatigue, only joy and happiness. At this time, the whole country, regardless of high and low, regardless of race and color, are like a wave of joy into the sea of joy. This joyful atmosphere is also infected with travelers from other countries, many foreigners can not help but dissolve into it.

The most enthusiastic, intense and joyful is the samba. From the 16th century, originating in the west coast of Africa, samba followed the black slaves to Brazil, it absorbed the Portuguese and Indian music and dance art style, evolved into the Brazilian samba. When dancing samba, every muscle of the dancer is shaking, which makes it different from the general light song and dance. As early as 1928, a group called "Samba School" appeared in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, the "Samba School" has been the mainstay of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival Samba Competition. In the months leading up to Carnival, the samba groups rehearse their dances, create their own music, make their own unique costumes and colorful vehicles, and select their highly trained dance "kings" and "queens.

Samba masquerade parade, headed by the open road members flanked by the name and logo of the group to which they belong, followed by a parade of the head by the person in charge, composers and colorful car designers and other leading figures. They waved to the crowd of onlookers with smiles on their faces, dressed in straight dresses. They were followed by a parade of women dressed in a variety of colors. They are dressed in colorful wide-swinged dresses, some wearing feathered hats, and some wearing masks. Flanking or in front of or behind the women's procession were hundreds of men's percussion bands, the musicians dressed in countless pieces of metal, glittering in the brilliant sunlight. They blow and play with great gusto and excitement. Then came the colorful cars and samba teams, on which stood the handsome men and women chosen as "king" and "queen", who smiled broadly and threw flying kisses to the crowd frequently. After that was the ecstatic samba team, dancers dressed differently, competing in color, with the dance, singing and dancing, which is a waist, hips, stomach shaking dramatically swinging dance. Dancers glowing, the viewer like a fool, whether it is the dancers or the viewer, people forget all the troubles, forget what the name, forget to eat and drink, the degree of its enthusiastic obsession has almost reached a crazy.

Frenzied crowds, gorgeous costumes, colorful cars, dazzling fireworks ...... Speaking of Carnival, you will certainly think of such a picture. The end of the year is approaching, the countries carnival "gradually into the good", let us travel around the world, to enjoy the feast of the characteristic carnival.