The
Carnevale festival derives from an ancient Latin feast called Lupercalia, a festival held around 15th
of February before the coming of Christianity. The feast was in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled Romulus
and Remus, the mythical founders of ancient Rome.
The
priests, luperci (brothers of the
wolf) conducted a ceremony dressed in goatskins. The feast began with the sacrifice
of a dog and two goats. After the sacrificial rite, two priests approached an
altar where another priest took the knife used to kill the dog and goats, and
anointed their foreheads with the bloody knife.
The
anointer then took a wool cloth, dipped in milk, and wiped their foreheads and
the knife. After cleaning the forehead, the continuing ritual required the two
priests to smile and laugh. Following that, the priests cut thongs of skin
(called februa) of the animals slain and ran along the city walls waving them. Spectators would position themselves
close enough for the flailing februa to
strike them. This ritual, many
believed, would drive away evil spirits, ensure fertility in young girls and
women, prevent sterility and relieve the pains of child-birthing.
It
is interesting to note, at this point, that the month of February received its
name from februa, and the Italian
word carnevale (pronounced car–nay- vah-lay) comes from the Latin carnelevarum,
meaning, to remove the flesh. The
English word is carnival.
This
ritual continued until 494 AD, when Pope Gelasius did away with the februa rite
and replaced it with a Christian ceremony of purification and sacrifice (lent).
The festivities that occurred prior to lent, spread throughout the Roman
Catholic world. Lent is a time of sacrifice and many interpreted the Latin word
to remove the flesh, also as meat free.
Carnevale
was mainly a Roman feast; however, over time Venice became a city renowned for
its celebrations. There a unique
cultural phenomenon developed where the well-to-do residents of the city
randomly throughout the year wore masks while engaging in questionable
behavior.
The
Signoria, the city council, frowned upon these behaviors and passed laws
restricting the times of the year for the wearing of disguises. They allowed
them between the twenty-sixth of December, St. Stephen’s Day, and on up to and
including the day before the beginning of lent, Shrove Tuesday. Consequently,
that day became a greater day of merriment and indulgence than those leading up
to it.
That Tuesday goes by many names, Fat Tuesday,
Shrove Tuesday, Martedà Grasso, in Italian, and Mardi Gras, in French. Both
Italian and French terms mean Fat Tuesday. Fat and meat, two major foods used
before lent become taboo during the Lenten period. Shrove is an old English
word meaning to obtain absolution. Among many English-speaking countries, it is
also known as Pancake Day, the last day to cook pancakes since pancakes are
cooked using fat.
Members
of the poorer classes also wore masks, allowing them to mix freely with
aristocrats. The mask was a great equalizer for revelry. Today many consider
Venice a leader in celebrating Carnevale; however, two other cities are
renowned for their celebrations, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and New Orleans,
Louisiana.
In
Venice the main festivities take place in St. Mark’s square. The activities are
parades with floats, people marching in costumes, people dancing, orators
spouting their ideas, individuals performing acrobatics, people engaging in
varied antics, and there is dining, and music. The major theme of the music for
the festival is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
The
origins of Mardi Gras in the United States lie in Mobile, Alabama, dating back
to 1703, making it the oldest annual Carnival celebration in America. Nicholas
Langlois, a Frenchman, initiated it in Mobile, the year after it became the
capital of French Louisiana. It was a traditional French Catholic activity. Over
the years it evolved across the many different cultural, religious, and governmental
aspects of the city to become what it is today. In recognition of the
popularity of the event, the Monday and Tuesday of the week of Mardi Gras, are
system wide school holidays. Below is a 1900, poster parade float of King Felix
and entourage. And Venetian revelers.
