February Holidays - Carnivals in Venice and Rio, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Groundhog Day
Carnivale in Venice
When Carnival first began it was celebrated from December 26 and reached its climax the day before Ash Wednesday, also known as "Mardi Gras". During the period of Carnival it seems that every excess was permitted and the fact that everyone wore masks seemed to abolish all social division. All the campi (open spaces) were thronged with people intent on partying and carousing, singing, dancing and playing games. The most common costume (the bautta) was composed of a black silk hood, a lace cape, a voluminous cloak (the tabarro), and a three-cornered hat and a white mask that completely covered the wearer's face. This allowed revelers to go around the city incognito. It was useful to go to casini, places where you could play games of chance. Since 1980 the celebration of Carnival in Venice has gained popularity. People come from the world over to attend private and public masked balls and masked revelers of all ages invade the campi where music and dancing continues nearly day and night. Theatrical performances and an array of ancient games are organized for the amusement of Venetians and visitors alike.
Source: Venice Travel Information
Carnival in Rio-de-Janeiro
Carnival is Rio's main event. It happens at the peak of summer, when Cariocas are at their best. Festivities attract thousands of people from all corners of the world. Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese , is a 4-day celebration. It starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday (Mardi-Gras). Dates change every year. It's 40 days before the Lent, a Catholic holiday.
The origins of Carnival are unclear, but most agree that it started as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome, or Greece. Carnival balls were imported from Italy in the late nineteenth century, and had their golden era in the thirties, with legendary balls at the Copacabana Palace, and the Municipal Theater.
Samba Parade began in the 30's - first timidly at Praça XI, and later on Av. Presidente Vargas. It found a permanent home in 1984 at the Sambodrome, the downtown area. Today the event is broadcast to dozens of countries, and all Brazilian states. Many people think of it as the greatest show on earth.
There is so much more to Carnival than the Samba Parade, though. Street Carnival is loads of fun, free, and it happens all over the city. You are more than welcome to watch and participate. Banda de Ipanema is one of the most traditional ones, attracting as many as 8,000 people!
Click here to get more information about the Rio's Carnival
Mardis Gras in New Orleans
Mardi Gras is a traditional holiday celebrated in many of the southern states of the USA. The most famous celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The people there enjoy this celebration by going to parades where they catch "beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets" that are all thrown from floats.
They have masquerade balls and dress up in costumes for these events. King Cakes are eaten during this holiday. Mardi Gras is known as the "biggest free show on earth."
Mardis Gras' King Cake
A cake served for Mardi Gras. The lucky person who finds the pecan or bean in a slice of cake is "king or queen for a day." The cake is shaped in a ring and decorated with tinted green, purple, and yellow food colors, the classic carnival colors.
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Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus about 1 cup more for kneading
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 cup lukewarm water ( not more than 115 degrees)
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dried fruit
- 1 pecan half
- 1 egg, lightly whisked with 1 tablespoon milk for the decorating sugars, use already colored purple, green, and yellow, or make your own by tinting 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar with a very small quantity of each color of paste food coloring.
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 candied cherries, cut lengthwise into halves
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Preparation Steps:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, nutmeg, salt, yeast, and lemon zest.
- In another bowl, combine the warmwater and egg yolks.
- Add to flour mixture and blend in the softened butter and chopped fruit. Turn out onto a floured surface, adding more flour as needed. With your hands, knead the mixture about 10 minutes until smooth and satiny.
- Butter mixing bowl and place the ball of dough in it. Cover. Let rise in a warm draft-free place 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch the dough down and shape it into a cylinder about 14 inches long.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then loop the cylinder onto the sheet. Pinch the ends together to form a ring.
- Press the pecan half gently into the ring so that it is completely hidden. Drape the dough with a cover and set it in a draft-free place to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Just before baking, brush the surface gently with the egg mixture.
- Bake 30 minutes. Slide the cake onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature. When cool, make the icing by combining the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water to make a smooth icing which you can drizzle over the cake, allowing it to run irregularly down the sides.
- Sprinkle the colored sugars over the icing immediately, forming rows of purple, yellow, and green strips, each about 2 inches wide on both sides of the cake. Arrange two cherry halves at each end of the cake.
Groundhog Day
February 2 brings the most-watched weather forecast of the year-and the only one led by a rodent. Legend has it that on this morning, if a groundhog can see its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it cannot see its shadow, spring is on the way.
Why the Groundhog?
Since a groundhog (or woodchuck or "whistle pig") hibernates for the winter, its coming out of the ground is a natural sign of spring. In Europe centuries ago, people watched for other hibernating animals, including badgers, bears, and hedgehogs, as signs of winter's end. Germans who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s began keeping an eye on the groundhog. The widespread population of the rodent made it a handy agent for this particular weather superstition. And a superstition it is. But there's a grain of truth: the winter days when you can see your shadow clearly are often especially cold, because there are no clouds overhead to insulate the earth.
Why now?
Early February is midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox . Throughout history numerous holidays have marked this seasonal crossroads. Among these is Candlemas Day, February 2, a Christian holiday that celebrates Mary's ritual purification. Early Christians believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, winter would last for six weeks more. The ancient Romans observed a mid-season festival on February 5, and the pagan Irish celebrated one around February 1. In many parts of Europe early February might herald the start of spring, when crops could be planted.
Punxsutawney Phil and Friends
In the 1880s some friends in Punxsutawney, Penn., went into the woods on Candlemas Day to look for groundhogs. This outing became a tradition, and a local newspaper editor nicknamed the seekers "the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club." Starting in 1887 the search became an official event centered on a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil. A ceremony still takes place every year.
Today Punxsutawney Phil lives in a climate-controlled habitat adjoining the Punxsutawney Library. A local celebrity, he gained national fame in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day (which was shot in scenic Woodstock, Illinois. The weather-watching rodent's predictions are recorded in the Congressional Records of US National Archive. So far, Phil has seen his shadow about 85% of the time.
Canada's Groundhog Day relies on the predictions of an albino groundhog named Wiarton Willie. Although Punxsutawney Phil gets the most attention, various American cities have their own special groundhogs; New York City's official groundhog is called "Pothole Pete."