Carnival begins in Rio and goes worldwide
(HN, 2.17.12) - Brazil's Carnival season came alive on Saturday with more than 2 million people attending the seasonal celebration, wearing festive outfits & staging a huge dance driven street festival in Rio. On Friday the legendary King Momo declared the Carnival officially open. Some 171 street parties were scheduled across the "Marvellous City" this weekend & 400 during the 5 day Carnival. Other Brazilian cities, including Sao Paulo, the country's economic capital & Salvador de Bahia, the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture, also celebrated the annual pre-Lent festival in style. The Carnival of Rio is the biggest Carnival celebration in the world. (READ MORE from the Sydney Morning Herald)
Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February & typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask & public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. (via WIKIPEDIA)
The festival of Carnival is celebrated worldwide in nations including: Andalusia, Angola, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Azores, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Catalonia, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands-Antilles, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saba, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, the USVI, & Venezuela.