CARNIVAL AROUND THE WORLD
Everyone recognizes that one of the parties that, with more enthusiasm and joy, expected throughout the year is Carnival. This is a party where anything goes, where you can be who you really want. There are many people coming out to enjoy these great celebrations with their fantastic costumes, but which is really the origin of this holiday? How is celebrated in other countries?
These are all topics that will describe in this article. Keep reading and enjoy this holiday!
CARNIVAL ORIGIN
CARNIVAL ORIGIN
The origin of the name "carnival" is disputed and there are various explanations. The most popular one is that the word comes from Italian “carne levare” which in turn is derived from the Latin words “caro” meaning flesh or meat, and “vale” meaning goodbye or farewell. So "Carnival" means literally "Goodbye to meat" which makes sense as the Carvival falls before Lent which is a 40 day and night period of fasting and in olden days Catholics were forbidden to eat meat during Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, “el Miércoles de Ceniza” and lasts 40 days.
For Carnival, which is celebrated in February, the streets are filled with joy and humour. Many people go across the streets dressed up as famous characters or occupations (nurse, clown...), among others.
(Carnival of Cadiz)
(Carnival of Tenerife)
(Carnival of Tenerife)
How Barcelona celebrates Carnival in February. The Barcelona Carnival is a week long programme of many big and small events and processions that starts on Thursday 27th February 2014 with the arrival of the carnival King and finishes on Ash Wednesday 5th March 2014 when the famous carnival sardine is buried.
Please note that Barcelona no longer has a central "Gran Rua" parade. From the 1980'ies and until 2011 the Barcelona carnival had a big central carnaval parade called the "Gran Rua de la Ciutat Barcelona" and also sometimes called the "Rua central." From 2012 this part of the Barcelona carnaval was discontinued. For visitors we can recommend the carnival parades in the Ribera/Born area of Barc elona's old city. One of the most celebrities in Barcelona is “Dijous Gras”.
- DIJOUS GRAS
The Carnival in Ireland is celebrated on 26th of December. One of the biggest parties of this country is the Carrigaline Carnival, a festival who in the rest of the world celebrated in February or even in summer to take advantage of the good weather. Involved traditional musics, singers and dancers wearing bright colorful costumes and straw hat participated in this festivity.
Thousands of people swirling on sidewalks and windows of houses to see it. The parade is complemented by the presence of several pairs of dogs and more than a hundred horses. It is organized by the Traditional group Owenabue Valley.
http://sobreirlanda.com/2009/12/18/cork-adelanta-a-diciembre-el-carnaval/
http://www.spain.info/es/reportajes/carnavales_en_espana.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Las_Palmas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_C%C3%A1diz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Santa_Cruz_de_Tenerife
http://www.barcelonayellow.com/bcn-events-articles/185-barcelona carnaval?Itemid=901
SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland and the people celebrate it on the 17th of March. Until the Fourth Century, when St. Patrick borned and brought Christianity into Ireland, the people didn't know a lot of this religion. This is why St. Patrick is famous in Ireland.
Althought St. Patrick was born on a rich family, he thought as a pagan. When he was 16, he was kidnapped as a slave by Irish marauders. During this capture, he turned to God.
St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland and the people celebrate it on the 17th of March. Until the Fourth Century, when St. Patrick borned and brought Christianity into Ireland, the people didn't know a lot of this religion. This is why St. Patrick is famous in Ireland.Althought St. Patrick was born on a rich family, he thought as a pagan. When he was 16, he was kidnapped as a slave by Irish marauders. During this capture, he turned to God.
But St. Patrick wasn't a slave all of his life. After being a slave for 6 years, he managed to escape. After that, he studied in a monastery for 12 years. In that monastery, he knew that his "calling" was to convert the pagans in Ireland to Christianity. St Patrick found a lot of monasteries and convert a lot of people to Christianity.
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| A parade float rides through the streets of South Boston, Massachusetts on St. Patrick's Day, 1973 |
He died on the 17th of March, AD 461, after 30 years of being a missionary in Ireland.
On St. Patrick's Day, people around the world celebrate it dancing and singing in Irish pubs, watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade, drinking ‘green’ beer, wearing green clothes and just
generally having a good time.
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| Dancers wearing Irish skirts perform at a St. Patrick's Day parade in Moscow, March 22, 2009 |
Children in Ireland have a tradition of pinching their friends who don’t wear green on this day!
Today, approximately 1 million people annually take part in Ireland ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin. On these days, people usually eat beacon and cabbage. They also eat soda bread and potato pancakes. On Irish pub, they put green food colouring into your beers. People also drink lots of Irish coffee, made with warm whiskey, sugar, coffee and topped off with cream.
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Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. In 2007, about 41.5 billion pounds of U.S. beef were sold.
LUCKY AND UNLUCKY THINGS
Ireland is a nation rich in superstitions and folklore. A symbol of Ireland is the Shamrock. The Shamrock is a four-leaf clover.
 Its green color represents the essence of life. A common clover has only three leaves. St. Patrick introduced it to the Druids as a representation of the Holy Trinity (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). It also represents faith, love and hope. The shamrock is a charm for good luck and they believe that the people who possesses it will be saved from the evil effects)
There are other facts of good luck for example the first day of the week and month, see a white lamp in the morning with a ray of sunlight on its face, doing the laundry on New Year's Eve, hang a horseshoe on the front door, carry a rabbit’s foot...
 Another lucky symbol is the celtic cross. It is a symbol used in Christianity and it's used to represent the four directions, the four elements, the Earth, the four winds, etc. It's also the place where paths intersect (for example, the live and the death).  The celtic cross is also a symbol of faith and hope and this is why is so important in Irish life. LEPRECHAUN Leprechaun is a creature from Irish mythology who became a national symbol for Irish culture. It is a gnome and its costume was green. It dedicated to obtain gold stealing and cheating people. Leprechaun also means "little body".  The popularity of this figure has to become part of even commercial logos. 
But Ireland it's also a place of unlucky superstition, for example Saturday it's considered an unlucky day to marry on (Like a folk rhyme said: "Marry on Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all, Thursday for crosses, Friday for losses and Saturday no day at all").
 If a black cat crosses a person's path on a moon-lit night, that person will die in an epidemic. 
But if you deliberately kill a cat, you have seventeen years of bad luck. This superstition origin on a legend called "The Black Cat of Kilakee".
FAIRIES
MERROW A merrow is a mythologic fairy considered the equivalent of a mermaid. Its body is like a human, but it have the body of a fish from the waist down. This type of fairy is friendly and modest.  Some of them were married and lived among humans for many years, but they must return eventually to the sea. Their song can be beautiful or like an animal noise. Their song attract young people under the waves, where live in an enchanted state.
BANSHEE
The Banshee is a famous fairy in Celtic mythology. It is the darkest of them.  According to the Celtic mythology, this dark fairy appears like a beautiful young woman with a pale face. Her hair is black as the night, but sometimes her hair is blond like the sun. When someone heard the banshee screams, they know that he would die that night.  |
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