| Carnival is the time of year that the world comes to Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil. A huge celebration of epic proportion, Carnival is the remnants
of Saturnalia an ancient pagan holiday that occured around Christmas. Christian
leaders didn't want their followers to be lured away by the promiscuous acts of
the Pagans during Saturnalia so they created a "Mass for Christ" or
Christmas. Which ended this ancient festival of fun for many cultures. Most Latin
countries adopted Christmas but moved the festival to forty days before Lent.
Carnival is latin for "farewell to meat" and is a celebration of gorging yourself on life's pleasures, before a long fast which used to exclude meat. Most conservative americans would view this as a Pagan ritual. Marti Gras (Fat Tuesday) which is America's only accepted Carnival is also frowned apon by staunch Christians. |
For a flash website about Rio
de Janeiro, Audible translations, Conversion tools:
Rio Adventure Tours
| Rio's first masquerade carnival ball with portuguese polkas and waltzes was
in 1840 . Carnival street parades started in 1850 The samba in Carnival, was first started in Rio 1917 Samba is a mixture of Angolan semba, European polka, African batuques, along with Cuban habanera and other carribean styles. Escola de Samba (samba school) first appeared in 1928. Samba came from the flood of newly freed black Brazilians from Bahia to the slums or favelas of Rio after the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888. |
![]() Copacabana Beach during Lent |
| Rio
Carnival Capoeira | Scuba
Diving Hang Gliding | Transportation Adventure Tours | Extreme
Vacations Adventure Vacations | Jungle
Hikes Rio Hotels |
| 2002 February
11 and 12 2003 March 3 and 4 2004 February 23 and 24 2005 February 7 and 8 2006 February 27 and 28 2007 February 19 and 20 2008 February 4 and 5 2009 February 23 and 24 |