The History of Carnival

Greeks & Romans
It has itīs roots in ancient Greece and a spring celebratation for the wine god Dionysos. This custom was taken over by the Romans who celebrated Bacchus (the Roman equivalent to Dionysos). In their fashion they introduced excessive amounts of food and drink and big orgies where slaves and masters exhanged clothes.

Catholicism
The catholic church took charge but the practice was continued. Now it became a last outlet before Lent, the forty days of fasting and abstinence before Easter. This week was very non Christian and full of sex, intoxication and sin. The word is from Latin Carne Vale (In English: Farewell to the Flesh).

The Samba
In Rio de Janeiro the Carnival has been present since the mid 19th century, only around 1920 the unique music called samba was incorporated. It was also then it became really popular with the masses. Samba is a style of music that have evolved in the slums of Rio, the favelas, and is a mix of influences from mainly Europe and Africa.

A Mix of Cultures
What this feast is like in different parts of the world has obviously cultural explanations. You can understand a lot of the culture in Rio by understanding the history of Carnival: The party is from Greece, the dressing up is from Rome and the rhythm is from Africa. From various sources Iīve heard that until the African influences became present the whole thing was a lot less intense and interesting, something I have no problem to believe.

The Semla
We actually celebrate the farewell to the flesh in Sweden too, we used to be catholic until the 16th century. We have limited the feasting to only one day (Fettisdagen) and to devouring a wheat bun with whipped cream on top (a Semla).

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