|
Carnival. A general explosion of joy. The most important and bigger popular festival that mixes emotions, creativity, plasticity, colors, sounds and many costumes. Unique records of the melting pot that is Brazilian culture. The moment comes when all participants are the protagonists of their own play, costume, plot, and samba. This is carnival year after year.
Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration. It starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi gras. Dates change every year.
Little need be said about Carnival in Rio; the samba school parade is world famous and everyone has seen pictures in magazines and on television.
Every year, Rio hosts the world's largest festival - Carnival. Many pre-Carnival festivities begin earlier, while the closing event - the Parade of the Champions - is on Saturday.
The official opening is, when the Mayor hands over the keys of the City to Carnival King Momo and his Queen. This is the kick-off for festivities that dance through the streets all over town, highlighted by parades, contests and balls.
Downtown, the Sambadrome opens its gates to the Samba School parades, beginning with Group B Samba Schools on Friday. Saturday is set aside for Group A - the second highest ranking, with the champion and runner-up promoted to the Major League next year. Sunday and Monday are the Major Samba School parades in the Special Group, while Tuesday sees the Junior Samba Schools. Balls take place every night throughout the week, together with a variety of costume contests.
During this period, hotels in Rio work only with package bookings and pre-payment.
When is Carnival? One of the most frequent questions we hear is “what is the date of Carnival this year?”. Well, believe it or not, it is not an easy question to answer. You have to be part astrologer, part mathematician, and part priest!
Here is how you calculate the Carnival date: 50-47 days before the first Sunday after the first full moon after Vernal Equinox, or in layman’s terms, Ash Wednesday is calculated as 46 days before Easter Sunday, and Carnival falls on the 4 days before Ash Wednesday. Complicated, no?
To make things easier, please find below Brazil Carnival Calendar up to 2020:
2011 – March 4th till 9th
2012 - February 17th till 22nd
2013 - February 8th till 13th
2014 - February 28th till March 5th
2015 - February 13th till 18th
2016 - February 5th till 10th
2017 - February 24th till March 1st
2018 - February 9th till 14th
2019 - March 1st till 6th
2020 - February 21st till 26th
If you want to know more about Carnival in Rio, choose one of the below links:
|
