While some eastern countries are currently immersed in Chinese New Year celebrations, Spain is welcoming their Carnival celebration.
Carnival takes place between Christmas and Semana Santa. If you go to Spain around this time of the year you will be able to see a lot of people wearing costumes, from a Doraemon to a Spiderman or many other characters. Maybe a pirate or even a tree! It really is a celebration for everyone of all ages, where everyone can have a very fun time. Don't be shocked, we are not always like this but we love to get our costumes ready when is time for carnival!
The word Carnival comes from the word 'carne' which means meat. Therefore, Carnival is associated with a period of permissiveness and partying.
The term Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic presence and originates in the Medieval Age when it spread around Europe. This celebration started just before the period of Lent (Cuaresma). Lent is the 40 days period that precedes the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ , which is celebrated on Easter Sunday. Lent is a period of preparation, purification and reflection with the purpose to be ready to receive God. With this purpose in mind, during Lent Christians commit to fast & give up all luxuries. To live a simple and holy life for 40 days was considered a real test, so the people had one last festival to enjoy all the things they would need to give up.
With the time, something that started as a preparation for Lent became what we now know as carnival. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday conformity and be who they want to be for a day.
In Spain this celebration usually starts with a prominent figure in the community giving a speech to welcome the festivities. The following days are filled with celebrations and parades through the streets.
Carnival in Spain is celebrated nationwide and you will be able to feel the carnival spirit in any city and small town. However the most raucous festivities are in the Canary Islands, Cadiz and Sitges.
The Carnival in Tenerife is probably the biggest party held in Europe. Off the southern coast of Spain, in Cadiz, you can also find a different sort of Carnival defined by its music as the crowded streets are surrounded by musical groups accompanied by guitars. Half an hour southwest of Barcelona you’ll find Carnival of Sitges which is also one of the most emblematic carnivals celebrated in Catalunya.
While each town has its own unique flavour of celebration they all have a devotion to having a good time.
To end the Carnival, on the day before of the start of Lent, we perform "the burial of the sardine". You might be thinking "¿Qué?". The people do a funeral procession through the streets and perform a mock funeral for a sardine, which symbolises burying our greed, gluttony and excess for the next 40 solemn days of Lent.
Depending in which area of Spain you are, you can live the carnival experience in may different ways, but fun is guaranteed in all of them!
Unfortunately this is a very exceptional year as nobody, in any part of the world, is able to celebrate the traditions in the way that we are used to. However, in a more private and reduced celebration we can still feel close to them.
Now that you know what this is about, which costume would you like to wear?
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