Friday Fun: Carnivale and looking forward to spring!

[Valerie Knapp]

Hello from Italy, where we are going to celebrate Carnivale in the few weeks. Of course, this day, the day before the Catholic Holy Day of Ash Wednesday, goes by many different names and traditions depending on where you are from-

Fat Tuesday!

Pancake Day!

Mardi Gras! 

Carnivale in Venice is a capital B, Big deal, with tourists flocking to the city for weeks before the day itself, donning their masks and tasting the traditional sweet doughnuts, fritelle. Here in Padua, we can already see some of the other celebrations such as the children dressing up in costumes, a parade (before Covid) and the tossing of confetti.  

I tend to think of many of these celebrations as a milestone for winding down the winter months and looking forward to spring. I have noticed that even this week, the days are starting to get longer again. We're no longer waking up in the dark and having to switch all the lights on to keep working from 4.

How and what will you celebrate the 21 February? Are you looking forward to the spring as much as I am?? 

[Craig Nodwell]

Here in Canada this day means very little.
A few years back in the province of Ontario they created a new holiday in February and named it Family Day.  This year is falls on February 20th.

Family Day:

A provincial statutory holiday observed on the third Monday in February in most provinces. About two-thirds of all Canadians will have the day off on Family Day.

Observed in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. This holiday celebrates the importance of families and family life to people and their communities.

A modern holiday that is growing in popularity across Canada. Its timing is said to have been selected to coincide with the American holiday of Presidents Day.

As the holiday is a provincial holiday, federal employees may not have the day off. The postal services will be operating and banks and restaurants are allowed to open. Some businesses may stay closed as opening on a holiday means they have to pay employees extra to work on a holiday.

[Summer Hogan]

Here in the US there is only one city I know of that celebrates a version of Carnivale and that is New Orleans, Lousiana. It's called Mardi Gras and it occurs on Fat Tuesday or February 21st! It is a blast as I have been many times! 
Mardi Gras is about music, parades, picnics, floats and excitement. It's one big holiday in New Orleans! Revelers know to wear costumes or at least dress in purple, green, and gold, and adorn themselves with long beads caught from the floats of previous parades.

[Brant Schroeder]

I will echo what @Summer Hogan shared.  I am sure that other cities have smaller celebrations but New Orleans is well-known for its celebrations.  

[Jimmy Seddon]

As @Craig Nodwell already mention in Ontario, Canada we will be celebrating "Family Day".  This year we will be heading to my parents place as will my sister so that all of our kids can play together and we can have a wonderful visit.

I'm always a fan of "breakfast food" for every meal, so on the Tuesday we will be eating pancakes for sure! 

[Dave Mathijs]

Hi @Valerie Knapp 

The Euregio Maas-Rijn (EMR) where I live (which is the pentagon Hasselt-Maastricht-Luik-Aken-Eupen) is well-known for "carnaval".

I'm not into it though, I'll let that one pass ...

[Craig Nodwell]

@Andy Gladstone  a 💘 should be touched for this! 

[Amanda Barber]

This year, we'll be visiting Washington DC on Fat Tuesday. For the last few years, we've made a homemade "king cake" using cinnamon rolls and, of course adding the little babies for a fun surprise! :-D We're not Catholic, so we aren't celebrating in the traditional sense, but we just love a good reason to celebrate traditions of any kind with our kiddos!

[Walter Buggenhout]

Here in Belgium, carnaval is a pretty big thing in several cities. In Flanders, the dutch speaking part of the country, the most famous example is probably Aalst.

The locals have several groups who basically work all year round to build their carriage for the procession that goes around the city. A prince is chosen in an election and for the duration of carnaval, he/she more or less becomes the unofficial mayor of the city. The event lasts several days and when the hangover is gone, folks start thinking about / preparing for the next edition.

[Carlotta Kuhn]

In Cologne, Germany (where I'm from) we celebrate "Karneval" from today until Wednesday. There are different parades everyday and we even have our own music just for the occasion. In other German cities they also celebrate it but once you go more south it is called "Fasching".

Now I live by Mobile, AL where Mardi Gras actually originates from (not NoLA like many might think) and we have balls and parades for almost a whole month with the big finale being Fat Tuesday.