Be ready for Carnival
Brazil's annual Carnival festival has gotten a lot of attention, although it has its roots in Portuguese colonialism. Every year, Portugal, like every other primarily Catholic country, celebrates Carnaval.
Carnival is traditionally held on Shrove Tuesday (a Portuguese public holiday), the day before Lent begins, and hence the day before six weeks of fasting. Because Catholics are meant to abstain from eating meat during Lent, the festival's name is derived from the word 'carnavale,' which means 'to put away the meat.'
Carnival was created to allow people to let loose after such a long time of privation.
As a result, large festivals abound, complete with outlandish clothing and dancing, delicious meaty food, copious amounts of wine, and general decadence. The main premise is that by severely overdoing it, one might cleanse the spirit of temptation. Who says being Catholic isn't enjoyable?
