What is "carnival"

Carnival \Car"ni*val\, n. [It. carnevale, prob. for older carnelevale, prop., the putting away of meat; fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh + levare to take away, lift up, fr. levis light.]

1. A festival celebrated with merriment and revelry in Roman Gatholic countries during the week before Lent, esp. at Rome and Naples, during a few days (three to ten) before Lent, ending with Shrove Tuesday.

   The carnival at Venice is everywhere talked of.
   --Addison.

2. Any merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading, especially when overstepping the bounds of decorum; a time of riotous excess.
   --Tennyson.

   He saw the lean dogs beneath the wall Hold o'er the dead their carnival
   --Byron. [1913 Webster] ||

1540s, "time of merrymaking before Lent," from French carnaval, from Italian carnevale "Shrove Tuesday," from older Italian forms such as Milanese *carnelevale, Old Pisan carnelevare "to remove meat," literally "raising flesh," from Latin caro "flesh" (see carnage) + levare "lighten, raise, remove" (see lever (n.)). Folk etymology is from Medieval Latin carne vale " 'flesh, farewell!' " Meaning "a circus or fair" is attested by 1931 in North America.

n. A festive occasion marked by parades and sometimes special foods and other entertainment.

1. n. a festival marked by merrymaking and processions

2. a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a circus or carnival; "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere" [syn: circus]

3. a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc. [syn: fair, funfair]

Carnival (see other spellings and names) is a Catholic festive season that occurs before the Catholic season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typically involves a public celebration and/or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks, and a public street party. People wear masks and costumes during many such celebrations, allowing them to lose their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods proscribed during Lent is extremely common. Other common features of carnival include mock battles such as food fights; social satire and mockery of authorities; the grotesque body displaying exaggerated features especially large noses, bellies, mouths, and phalli or elements of animal bodies; abusive language and degrading acts; depictions of disease and gleeful death; and a general reversal of everyday rules and norms.

The term Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic presence. However, the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, does not celebrate Carnival anymore since the dissolution of the Manila Carnival after 1939, the last carnival in the country. In historically Lutheran countries, the celebration is known as Fastelavn, and in areas with a high concentration of Anglicans and Methodists, pre-Lenten celebrations, along with penitential observances, occur on Shrove Tuesday. In Eastern Orthodox nations, Maslenitsa is celebrated during the last week before Great Lent. In German-speaking Europe and the Netherlands, the Carnival season traditionally opens on 11/11 (often at 11:11 a.m.). This dates back to celebrations before the Advent season or with harvest celebrations of St. Martin's Day.

Rio de Janeiro's carnival is considered the world's largest, hosting approximately two million participants per day. In 2004, Rio's carnival attracted a record 400,000 foreign visitors.

Carnival is a dance music EP by Duran Duran, originally released in various markets around the world in September 1982 by EMI.

Carnival is a fixed shooter arcade game created by Sega in . It has the distinction of being the first video game with a bonus round.

Carnival was ported to the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and Intellivision. An Atari 8-bit family version was published in 1982 by ANALOG Software, the commercial software branch of ANALOG Computing magazine.

Carnival is a festive season occurring immediately before Lent.

Carnival or carnaval or The Carnival may also refer to:

Carnival by Robert Antoni is a 2005 reworking of Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises.

Though Antoni does draw heavily from the activities of the characters from The Sun Also Rises, Carnival describes the sense of displacement and illusion experienced by the characters who have exiled themselves from their island in the West Indies. The main character, William Fletcher, has a similar wound to Jake Barnes from The Sun Also Rises but William's wound is a self-imposed one. Though they both cannot use their penises, Jake still has the intense passion to be with women but is unable because of wound he received from World War I. On the other hand, William still has his penis but he becomes fearful whenever he gets involved intimately with women to the point where intimacy and sex become self-described hell. His one and only true love is the vivacious Rachel who, like Brett Ashley, is the sexual focus of all the men in the novel.

According to Publishers Weekly, the novel falters: "For all the debauchery that is Carnival (think Scotch, marijuana, fireworks, jouvert bands), this section of the novel feels curiously bloodless, perhaps because Antoni's style tends toward short fragments ("He sat up, arms folded over chest. Breathing quickly. His chest rising, falling. Staring down at the ground") and weak transitions ("Before I had a chance to think about it..."; "Before I knew it..."; etc.) The final act of the novel shifts to a remote, mountainous region where William and friends intend to sober up from the merrymaking, but instead find themselves involved in a violent incident involving the Earth People (an isolated settlement of rastas) and a racist police force. Antoni's major themes—race (William is white, Laurence black, Rachel French-Creole) and sexuality—are good ones, but they're not sufficiently developed, and the plot feels somewhat manufactured".

Carnival is the fourth studio album from Australian singer/songwriter Kasey Chambers, released in Australia on 19 August 2006 and in the United States on 12 September 2006 (see 2006 in music).

"Carnival" is a 1995 song written and produced by singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant and was the lead single from her debut solo album Tigerlily.

The single was released to U.S. airwaves in the summer of 1995 and went straight to the number 10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, thus becoming her highest-charting solo single. The single received a radio edit cutting the song down from the six-minute LP version.

In the lyrics, the protagonist compares the many colorful sights and sounds of day-to-day life in New York City to a carnival.

The video for the song, directed by Melodie McDaniel, shows scenes of Merchant walking the streets of New York City taking street photographs with a Leica M3.

"Carnival" is the sixth and final episode of the third and final series of British television sitcom Bottom. It was first broadcast on 10 February 1995.

Carnival was released in 2005 and is the ninth studio album by British rock band, New Model Army. The album was co-produced by Chris Tsangarides and New Model Army.

Carnival is a 1931 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and produced by his British & Dominions Film Corporation, starring Matheson Lang, Joseph Schildkraut, Kay Hammond and Chili Bouchier. During a performance of Othello a jealous actor attempts to strangle his wife who he believes has committed adultery. It was a remake of the 1921 film Carnival. The French musician Alfred Rode appears with his band.

Carnival is a 1946 film based on the novel of the same name by Compton Mackenzie.

Carnival is a 1935 American film directed by Walter Lang and starring Jimmy Durante, Lee Tracy, and Sally Eilers.

The film also includes a young Lucille Ball in a small uncredited role as a nurse.

Carnival is a live album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1974 at the Montreux Jazz Festival and originally released on the Freedom label in 1975.

Carnival is the 11th album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. This is yet another attempt to replicate the success of Conquistador. Another big theme song ("Battlestar Galactica"), a couple of originals, a blast from the past (" Stella by Starlight"), and a cover of " Birdland", which was well received.

"Carnival" is a song written and recorded by the British rock musician Eric Clapton for his 1976 studio album No Reason to Cry. It was also released as the second and last single of the studio album in January of 1977. Rob Fraboni produced the recording.

Carnival is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Handy which was recorded in 1977 and originally released on the ABC/ Impulse label.

Carnival is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Harley Knoles and starring Matheson Lang, Ivor Novello and Hilda Bayley. During a production of Shakespeare's Othello in Venice an Italian actor suspects his wife of having an affair and plans to murder her on stage. It was based on a stage play of the year before of which Matheson Lang was one of the writers. The film was a popular success, and was re-released the following year. It was remade as a sound film Carnival in 1931 directed by Herbert Wilcox.

The film's plot closely resembles that of the USA film of 1947 A Double Life, supposedly an oriignal creation of Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, for which actor Ronald Colman won his Oscar.

"Carnival" is a pop song by The Cardigans. It was released in 1995 as the first single from their second album Life. It gave the group their first appearance on the UK Charts, reaching number 72 in June 1995. After their next single, a re-issue of "Sick & Tired", reached the top 40, "Carnival" was re-pressed and reached a peak of number 35.

"Carnival" was also the first released material by The Cardigans on which Nina Persson received a writing credit, on this occasion alongside bassist Magnus Svenningsson whom she would later supersede as the group's primary lyricist. The song concerns the narrator's unrequited love for a boy, and mentions a "carnival" (the description actually appears to refer to a funfair) which the narrator would like to attend with the boy but does not go because he never responds to her. The song's verses include the sound of what appears to be a hammond organ.

The single's B sides were a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's " Mr Crowley", one of several Osbourne and Black Sabbath cover versions released by the group; and "Emmerdale", an instrumental which shared its name with their previous album, but did not appear on it.

"Carnival" was featured on the Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery soundtrack.

Carnival is a 2006 science fiction novel by Elizabeth Bear. It was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award, a Locus Award and a Lambda Literary Award.

Carnival is the fifth extended plays by the South Korean male hip hop group B.A.P. It was released on February 22, 2016 under the label of TS Entertainment. It features the single "Feel So Good".