what is carnival?

Question

i need to know what the caribbean carnival is...i need a brief description!!! plz help!!!

Answer 1

Most of the islands in the Caribbean celebrate carnival. The largest and most well-known celebration is held in Trinidad and Tobago. Haiti, Aruba, Curaçao, Barbados, Saint Thomas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are also known for lengthy carnival seasons and large celebrations.

Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad & Tobago, Carnival is a holiday season that lasts over a month and culminates in large celebrations in Port of Spain which is the capital of Trinidad, on the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with Dimanche Gras, J'ouvert, and Mas (masquerade). Tobago's celebrations also culminates on Monday and Tuesday but on a much smaller scale in its capital Scarborough. Carnival is a festive time of costumes, dance, music, competitions, rum, and partying (also referred to as fete-ing). Music styles associated with Carnival include soca, calypso, and steel pan.

The annual Carnival steel pan competition known as the National Panorama competition is held in the weeks preceding Carnival with the finals held on the Saturday before the main event. Pan players compete in various categories such as "Conventional Steel band" or Single Pan" by performing renditions of the current year's calypsos. Preliminary judging of this event for "Conventional Steel bands" has been recently moved to the individual pan yards where steel bands practice their selections for the competition.

"Dimanche Gras" takes place on the Sunday night before Ash Wednesday. Here the Calypso Monarch is chosen (after competition) and prize money and a vehicle bestowed. Also the King and Queen of the bands are crowned, where each band to parade costumes for the next two days submits a king and queen, from which an overall winner is chosen. These usually involve huge, complex, beautiful costumes.

J'ouvert, or "Dirty Mas", takes place before dawn on the Monday (known as Carnival Monday) before Ash Wednesday. It means "goodbye to the flesh" or "welcome to daybreak" (depending on the interpretation). Here revelers dress in old clothes and cover themselves in mud, oil paint and body paint. A common character to be seen at this time is "Jab-jabs" (devils, blue, black or red) complete with pitch fork, pointed horns and tails. Here also, a king and queen of the J'ouvert are chosen, based on their representation of current political/social events/issues.

Carnival Monday involves the parade of the mas bands, but on a casual or relaxed scale. Usually revelers wear only parts of their costumes, and the purpose of the day is more one of fun than display or competition. Also on Carnival Monday, Monday Night Mas is popular in most towns and especially the capital, where smaller bands participate in competition.

Carnival Tuesday is when the main events of the carnival take place. On this day full costume is worn complete with make up and body paints/adornments. Each band has their costume presentation based on a particular theme, and contain various sections (some consisting of thousands of revelers) which reflect these themes. Here the street parade and eventual crowning of the best bands take place. After following a route where various judging points are located, the mas bands eventually converge on the Queen's Park Savannah to pass "on the stage" to be judged once and for all. Also taking place on this day is the crowning of the Road March king or queen, where the singer of the most played song over the two days of the carnival is crowned winner, complete with prize money and usually a vehicle.

This parading and revelry goes on into the night of the Tuesday. Ash Wednesday itself, whilst not an official holiday, is marked by most by visiting the beaches that abound both Trinidad and Tobago. The most populated being Maracas beach and Manzanilla beach, where huge beach parties take place every Ash Wednesday. These provide a cool down from the previous five days of hectic partying, parades and competitions, and are usually attended by the whole family.

Answer 2

Coming together of people,ideas creativity in costume design and a celebration of a culture and ones history,from the region.
So even though its looking more like a bunch of people wearing little clothing,its original meaning was to be the culture and a good end to a productive, harvest period,eg; ( crop over Barbados ), thought out the region.
And to just have a good time,but with to days commercializing of every thing,i guess sex has taking hold,of one imagination when,you see beau ti ful women whining about.

Answer 3

NEVIS holds they carnival from July to August we have queen shows, calypso, street jamming, action cant done, parades beautiful costumes its a time for everyone to come out and have fun you have to come and experience it for yourself

Answer 4

I love **** carnival

Answer 5

A Whole Lot of Fun!!!
Bring your camera, you won't believe what you see.