February is Carnival Time

To many people, February is the month of hearts, February 14 being Valentine's Day. But to many others, especially those who love the wild nightlife and the excitement that comes with parades and street parties, February is set to open on February 22, while in the town of Sitges in Spain, the Carnival begins on February 15.

The Carnival is a festival celebrated in many Christian countries with a Latin heritage and it is always held before the observance of the Lenten season. The festival is a week-long event, though sometimes shorter and sometimes longer than that.

The Carnival is an opportunity that is supposed to allow everyone to indulge in all earthly pleasures so that they may give it up when Ash Wednesday comes and ushers in Lent. During the Lenten season, abstinence from all pleasures of the body is called for.

Tourists all over the world agree that the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is the most colorful of all the Carnivals celebrated across the globe. The Rio Carnival sets the standard by which the other Carnivals are held, and it attracts around 500,000 revelers from all over the world. February 22 marks the start of the Rio Carnival this 2009.

The Rio Carnival begins four days before Ash Wednesday and ends on Fat Tuesday. What makes the Rio Carnival so memorable is its lavish street parties with the revelers in full makeup and extravagant costumes, along with its colorful parades and its lively street bands. One of the highlights of the Rio Carnival is the competition among the samba schools to out-dance each other. There are also many carnival balls in various nightclubs scattered in Rio.

Rio de Janeiro may be half a world away for people living in Europe, but for Europeans who want to experience the Carnival, the one that will be held in Sitges in Spanish Catalan is closer and just as colorful. The Sitges Carnival is scheduled to begin on February 15.

The Sitges Carnival is reputed to be among the wildest and most spectacular street events in Europe. Just like the Rio Carnival, it is highlighted by street parties, a grand parade of at least 40 floats, dancing and binge eating. It attracts around 250,000 tourists from all across Europe and from other parts of the world.

The Sitges Carnival is jumpstarted by the Gay Carnival, which begins four days before the regular Carnival. Sitges is, after all, a resort and fishing town with an active gay community. A high point in the beginning of the Sitges Carnival is the arrival of the King of Carnestoltes, whose name is derived from the Latin term for forbidden meat. The king will appear at various times all throughout the festival. In the meantime, revelers get to party wildly in outrageous costumes on the streets of Sitges (http://www.go-cielo.com/en/Spain-Espana/Costa-Garraf/Sitges.htm), as well as sample traditional Catalan fare on the Jueves Lardero (Fatty Thursday).

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday marks the end of the Sitges Carnival. The end of the festivities is observed with the burning of the effigy of the King of Carnestoltes as well as the mock sardine burial.

Europeans who want to experience the Carnival before the Lenten season, therefore, have two choices. One is the splendidly spectacular Rio Carnival in Brazil that is half a world away, and the other is the Stiges Carnival in Spain, much closer to home.

For more information on traveling for the Carnival, please visit http://www.go-cielo.com/