Unit 58
The Origin of Carnival
Carnival is a Christian creation derived from the Latin "Carne vale", meaning "farewell meat". And this referred to stop eating the meat. Despite its religious origin, Carnival has developed a secular meaning.
Today, Carnival is time for a revelry for all. It is a celebration for life and revival. Thus parades, parties, with music and dances are part of it. Wild, noisy, colorful parades of revelers in bright costumes go to main streets to participate and share the joy. Carnival took on aspects of some spring rites and still keeps them.
In the ancient festival of Saturnalia the Romans used to burn the statue of the king of ancient Saturnalia. He was an ugly-looking man and the master of revels. He suffered a real death when the revels were over.
In the countries like Italy, Spain, and France where the influence of Rome has been deepest and most lasting, the statue of Carnival is burnt, drowned, or beheaded to the pretended sorrow or true delight of the revelers. This burnt out statue, as pointed out by the famous anthropologist Sir James Frazer, is no other than the direct ruler after the old king of Saturnalia. In fact, this tradition of statue burning had come as a part of an ancient rites of celebrating the end of the battle between summer and winter.
The wild revelry, which is an important part of Carnival, is also what is left of the same ancient tradition of spring festival. They are believed to imitate the wars between summer and winter so commonly fought at the coming of spring. The colorful costumes of the revelers are also said to represent the spring when the white face of nature is cast aside for a colorful look. The popular tradition of wearing masks during the Carnival also comes from the feature of the New Year festivals. The masks are said to represent the dead or spirits from the nether world who come closest to the human at his time of changeover.
Carnival is still a wonderful festival of joy in Brazil, Peru, and other parts of South America. It is also celebrated with much excitement in the European countries ruled by the Catholics. Thus it is widely celebrated in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. |