Carnival
Carnival was the period between the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent, which occurs in northern climes in the dead of winter. During pagan times and emerging into the folklore of central and western Europe, this was a period in which heavy consumption of food was simply a matter of survival, in order to ward off the period of darkness associated with the shorter days of winter. As the days began to grow longer, consumption was increased, especially among the Germanic tribes, to both drive back the evil incarnate in the darkness and encourage the return of the light. As Christianity emerged and the lengthy fast of Lent became a requirement, the folklore remained.
The stocks which were harvested in the fall would not last through the end of the Lenten period, so they were required to be consumed before the fast began, to preclude their going to waste. As the calendar drew closer to the commencement of Lent the consumption increased. Sexual activity was curtailed as part of the Lenten fast, thus it was increased prior to Lent and a corresponding increase among the populace occurred. During the Middle Ages, the Church protested against the pagan practices which increased as the season of Lent approached, leading to the practice of appearing in public disguised, often in the skins of animals, which was a sin in the eyes of the Church.
In the sixth century, the official period of fasting was designated to begin on Ash Wednesday, and Pope Gregory the Great determined that the period of relative gluttony known as Carnival was necessary to the Church Calendar, creating a clear demarcation from the period of fasting and self-denial, Lent. Carnival spread through the Catholic countries and eventually to North and South America through New Spain and New France. In 1466 elements of the ancient Saturnalia festivals of Rome were merged with Carnival by Pope Paul II, requiring Jews, after being fed heavy meals, to run naked through the streets of Rome.
During the 18th and 19th centuries elements of the Saturnalia remained a part of the Carnival of Rome, and anti-Semitic features remained prevalent. Rabbis of Rome’s Jewish communities were required to wear clothes or costumes which brought ridicule on themselves, while they endured the ensuing taunts and abuses of the crowds. When Pope Gregory XVI was petitioned to stop the anti-Semitic aspects of the Rome Carnival in 1836 he responded, “It is not opportune to make any innovation.” Carnival was the necessary period of sin, to be atoned for during lent, and freed from by Easter and Pentecost.
Carnival began as a period of consumption by necessity, became a pagan ritual yet again associated with the rebirth of the Sun, was absorbed into the Christian calendar after years of opposition, and eventually became a largely secular festival of a few days preceding Lent. In some locations, such as New York in the United States and in the United Kingdom, it is celebrated without regard to the Christian calendar, with some areas celebrating it in June and others over Labor Day. In Toronto, Canada, it is held on the first weekend of August. Mardi Gras in New Orleans and several other cities in the Mississippi remain part of the Carnival tradition, celebrated in the days before Ash Wednesday.