Crazy Carnival

So apparently it is the time of year for Carnival – well at least in Brazil. I’ll be honest, up until about 10 minutes ago, I really had no idea what the Carnival tradition was or why it is so important in Brazil and how important it is to their culture. Please… read on and get educated about the history of Carnival in Brazil. Apparently this tradition has been occurring since the time of the ancient Greeks. It originated as a Spring festival to honor the God of Wine (as soon as I read this I knew it could only get better, I mean a God of WINE – HELL YEAH!!) It went through a couple of tweeks and changes as time went on, the Romans adopted it and used it as a time to honor their Wine God and then the Roman Catholic Church got a hold of it and it turned into a last festival before Ash Wednesday. I am pretty sure this is still more or less the present meaning/purpose of Carnival now. Anyway, it has essentially turned into a massive celebration of indulgences (and everyone loves indulgences!)- sort of like a last fling of sex, alcohol and food before Lent begins. I am not sure that a week filled with pretty much every “sin” possible is exactly what the Catholics had in mind before starting the 40 days of sin purging. The carnival that takes place in Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s most lavish and most famous carnivals. There are drumming groups, parties, drinking, eating and parades with singers and Samba dancers! These parades are filled with elaborate costumes, crazy colourful floats and sometimes even a few naked people (as Carnival comes from a latin term meaning Farewell to the Flesh – I think prancing around naked helps put this into perspective)…  So of course as with everything Paris had to have its own version of this crazy little festival.  Sunday afternoon I bundled up and hopped on the back of my friend and escorts scooter and we cruised the streets of Paris looking for people dancing in sequined costumes, drumming and singing. It took a little bit but after a few wrong turns we found it. An entire section of the Parisian streets blocked off and just crowded with crazy drunken Parisians celebrating their very own version of Carnival. I will be honest, there were a few points when these dancing fools marched by that I wanted to just join in and march down the streets with them… Although I am positive that this little gathering pales in comparison to the elaborate celebrations in Brazil and especially in Rio, it was quite the sight to see and I am happy I was able to take this in. Plus I got to ride around the city on the back of a scooter again and as I have mentioned many times before, this for me is one of the most amazing and best ways to take in the city. Nothing at all beats holding on while you weave in and out of cars and taking in the scenery from an entirely new point of view.

Pictures to come!!!