Carnival

Carnevale: "to put away meat"  The forty days of lent leading up to Easter in the Christian calendar are meant to be a time of non-indulgence.  The early origins of carnival began as one final all out celebration prior to doing just that.  Now the time for month long festivities combined with scantily clad dancing revelers has spread all over the world, most notably perhaps are Rio and New Orleans. Although I've never been to either city, I have enjoyed Carnival in St. Croix and Aruba while living in both places  and certainly feel that I have had the "Carnival experience".

The Carnival Festival in St Croix takes place between Christmas and New Years and was my maiden voyage to the excitement of Carnival. The town of Christainsted comes alive with calypso shows, parades and steel pan venues. There is a pageant held to select the "royalty"; the queen, king, prince and princess of Carnival who then proudly assume their positions of honor in the J'ouvert parade.  The town is filled with Cruzans as well as tourists who return each year specifically for this event.  Food, music, crafts and  stilt-dancing Moko Jumbies are all components of a cherished event that merges African and European customs and traditions.  The fireworks are the culmination which coincide with Three Kings Day; another holiday traditionally celebrated with much merriment in St. Croix. Needless to say, there is not a lot of work that takes place during this time, and that suits the cruzan lifestyle quite well.

In Aruba, Carnival is held during  the more traditional time frame leading up to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the solemn Lenten period.  A mix of Caribbean and Dutch revelers decked out in amazing bold colored costumes, many consisting only of carefully placed feathers,  dance to pulsating music that soon becomes contagious.  No bystanders allowed, everyone is invited to join the parade.  The drink flows, the music gets louder and everyone is having a blast.   The merriment, steel pan music and scantily clad dancers are similar to those in St. Criox and people plan years ahead for their theme and costume.  "Jump-up", the beginnings of J'ouvert, start in the wee hours of the morning in San Nicholas, with pajama clad revelers taking part in the parade.  After nearly a month of festivities, the culmination of Aruba's Carnival is the Grand Parade in the capital city of Oranjestad which takes place the Sunday preceding Ash Wednesday.  The following day is a national holiday, a day of well earned rest where participants reminiscence over the success of this carnival before beginning once again the year long planning for the next.

One day I hope to join my sister Judy who lives in New Orleans, for their most celebrated festival.  Until then on each Fat Tuesday, I'll recall with fondness the carnivals of my past.  Sadly, I can't seem to locate any of my carnival photos.  One of Aruba's beautiful beaches will take center stage for this blog until I return to capture the carnival action again.