Brazilian Carnival - How Brazilian Traditions Work ...

Carnival (actually Carnaval in Portuguese) is a wild celebration of food, alcohol, music and fun. It's held annually for a few days before the start of Lent ... HealthScienceHome&GardenAutoTechCultureMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzesSubmitSearchSignupforourNewsletter!MobileNewsletterbannerclose​HowStuffWorksNewsletterMobileNewsletterchatcloseMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatdotsMobileNewsletterchatavatarMobileNewsletterchatsubscribeHealthScienceHome&GardenAutoTechCultureMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzes MoreMoreMoneyLifestyleEntertainmentAdventureAnimalsQuizzesPrevNEXTAdvertisementHowStuffWorksCulturePeopleCulture&TraditionsNationalTraditions HowBrazilianTraditionsWork PrevNEXT By:MelanieRadzickiMcManusShareContentonTwitterShareContentonFacebookShareContentonLinkedInShareContentonFlipboardShareContentonRedditShareContentviaEmailBrazilianCarnival AsambaschoolperformsduringtheannualCarnivalparadeinRiodeJaneiro,Brazil.The14sambaschoolsarethemainattractionofRio'sCarnival,performingtoapproximately70,000spectatorsinastadiumbuiltespeciallyforthecelebration. AndreFelipe/GettyImagesCarnival(actuallyCarnavalinPortuguese)isawildcelebrationoffood,alcohol,musicandfun.It'sheldannuallyforafewdaysbeforethestartofLent,the40-dayperiodoffasting,abstinenceandrepentancethat'sobservedbytheRomanCatholicChurchbeforeEaster.ThewordcarnivalcomesfromtheLatincarnevale,or"farewelltotheflesh"[source:Rosenberg].ThePortuguesebroughtthepracticeofCarnivaltoBrazilaround1850,patterningitmainlyontheParisiantraditionofholdingmasqueradepartiesandballsatthistimeoftheyear.However,theBraziliansmorpheditintoaversionuniquelytheirownovertime,addinginelementsfromthepeople'sAfricanandindigenousculturalbackgrounds.Thus,CarnivalinBrazileventuallyincorporatedlotsofparades,elaboratecostumes,music,dancingandballs.Atraditionalsodevelopedwherepeopledressupinopposingroles:mendressaswomen,aristocratsdressascommoners,thepoordressastherich.AdvertisementCarnivalisheldalloverthecountry;celebrationsdifferabitbyregion,butRiodeJaneiro'scelebrationisthemostpopular,drawingcrowdsof500,000foreignersannuallyfromacrosstheglobe[source:RioCarnival].OneofthehighlightsofRio'sCarnivalisitselaborateparades,stagedbymajorsambaschools.Thesambaschoolsworkyear-roundtopreparefortheirCarnivalparadeentry,andtheimmenseSambodromo(sambastadium)facilitywasbuiltspecificallytoshowcasetheparades[source:JustBrazil].WhileallBraziliansloveCarnival,theblackcommunitiesareitsmostavidparticipants.Thislikelystemsfromthecommunity'shistoricalloveofCarnival,asAfricanslaveswerefreedannuallyforthefestival'sduration.InRio,residentsofthecity's(largelyblack)favelas,orslums,areespeciallyenamoredofCarnival,joiningsambaschoolsandworkinghardoncostumes.Tothem,carnivalandsambaareasbelovedandimportantassoccer[source:RioCarnival].RelatedArticlesGeographyofRiodeJaneiroGeographyofSouthAmericaHistoryofBrazilHowaBikiniWaxWorksTraveltheWorldQuiz:BrazilMoreGreatLinksCaipirinhaRecipeCapoeriaBrasilRioCarnivalSourcesBrazilTravelInformation."Carnival."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.braziltravelinformation.com/brazil_carnival.htmBrazil-Travel-Northeast."BrazilcultureandBraziltraditions."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.brazil-travel-northeast.com/brazil-culture.htmlBrazilianBikiniBottom."BrazilianBikiniBottom."(Aug.11,2011)http://brazilianbikinibottom.com/CapeCodJusticeofthePeace."BrazilianWeddingTraditions."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.capecodjusticeofthepeace.com/BrazilianPage.htmlCapoeira."TheHistoryofCapoeira."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.capoeira.htmlplanet.com/capoeira_hist.htmCapoeiraNYC."History&Ethnomusicology."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.capoeiranyc.com/study.htmlCapoeiraUniverse."CapoeriaHistory."June11,2011.(Aug.8,2011)http://capoeirauniverse.com/capoeira-history/Copacabana."StatueofChristtheRedeemer:History&Pictures."(Aug.11,2011)http://www.copacabana.info/Christ-the-Redeemer-history.htmlCorcovado."TheStatueofChrist."(Aug.11,2011)http://www.corcovado.com.br/cristo_redentor_ing.htmlEveryCulture."Brazil."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Brazil.htmlFIFA."PreviousFIFAWorldCups."(Aug.18,2011)http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/index.htmlFoodbyCountry."Brazil."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Brazil.htmlTheHistoryofChristmas."Brazil–Christmastraditions&customs."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/traditions/brazil.htmInfoPlease."Brazil."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0808783.htmlJustBrazil."BrazilCarnaval."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.justbrazil.org/brazil/brazil-carnaval.aspKwintessential."Brazil–Language,Culture,CustomsandEtiquette."(Aug.8,2011)http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/brazil-country-profile.htmlMeuBrasilBrasileiro.(Aug.11,2011)http://www.meubrasilbrasileiro.eu/merletti.phpNationsOnline."CurrentWorldPopulation."(Aug.12,2011)http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htmRioCarnival."TheGuideforCarnivalinRiodeJaneiro."(Aug.8,2011)http://rio-carnival.net/RioJaneiro."TraditionalBrazilianFood."Aug.30,2009.(Aug.8,2011)http://www.riojaneiro.eu/2009/08/traditional-brazilian-food/Rosenberg,Dan."HistoryofCarnivalinBrazil."Afropop.(Aug.8,2011)http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/33/SlideShare."BrazilProject."(Aug.11,2011)http://www.slideshare.net/vinit1/brazil-projectThinkQuest."CustomsandTraditions."(Aug.8,2011)http://library.thinkquest.org/C004179/customs.htmUShouldVisit."TraditionalDressforBrazil."(Aug.8,2011)http://ushouldvisit.com/south-america/brazil/Traditional-Dress-For-Brazil.htmlPrevious1…2345NextPage​ CiteThis! Pleasecopy/pastethefollowingtexttoproperlycitethisHowStuffWorks.comarticle:Copy MelanieRadzickiMcManus "HowBrazilianTraditionsWork" 25July2011.HowStuffWorks.com. 21April2022 Close Print | CitationGamesSolveIt!TryOurCrosswordPuzzles!CanYouSolveThisRiddle?MoreAwesomeStuffUpNext10StrangeAmericanTraditionsExploreMoreYouMayLikeHowMexicanTraditionsWorkExploreMoreKeepReadingHowIndianTraditionsWorkExploreMoreAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement