Reading For Information - The Venice Carnival

• The Venice Carnival in Italy is one of the world’s oldest and most colourful festivals. This popular winter festival takes place just before Lent, and lasts for eighteen days.

  Lent is a Christian time for fasting and prayer. The word carnival originally meant 'goodbye to meat'. Easter is an important festival for Christians. Some Christians prepare for Easter by not eating meat during Lent. Others mark Lent by giving up something else they enjoy eating, such as sweets.

  The Carnival celebrations are believed to date back to ancient Roman times. Historians think traditional festivals became the inspiration for Carnival when Christianity became a religion.

  The Venice carnival is very popular with tourists. People from all around the world visit the city at carnival time. The carnival opens with a traditional boat parade. The boats that travel along Venice canals are called gondolas.

  Events during the festival include a big feast known as the King's Banquet, and formal parties called Grand Balls. People dress up in beautiful historic costumes for the carnival. They wear cloaks and hide their faces behind hand painted masks.

  On Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday, a spectacular Mardi Gras parade is held to mark the end of the carnival and the beginning of Lent.