Carnival——狂欢节.docVIP

Carnival Think of carnival, and you think of crowds, costumes, and confusion. The sounds and sights change from one country to another but the excitement is the same everywhere! Carnival comes from two Latin words, meaning no more meat. In Europe, where it began, carnival was followed by forty days without meat, as people prepared for the Christian festival of Easter. People saw Carnival as a last chance to have fun at the end of the winter season. Having fun meant eating, drinking and dressing up. The Magic of?Masks——The Symbol of?Venice Carnival The most famous carnival in Europe was in Venice. At the beginning, it lasted for just one day. People ate, drank, and wore masks. As time passed, however, the carnival period was extended, so that it began just after Christmas. For weeks on end people walked round the streets wearing masks, doing what they wanted without being recognized. Ordinary people could pretend to be rich and important ,while famous people could have romantic adventures in secret. Many crime went unpunished! When Venice became part of the Austrian empire, at the end of the eighteenth century, masks were banned completely, and carnival became just a memory.but in the late 1970s the tradition was revived by students. They began making masks and organising parties, and threw bits of brightly coloured paper at tourists. The town council realised that carnival was good for business, and the festival was developed for tourists. Today, carnival in Venice is celebrated for five days in February. people arrive from all over Europe to enjoy the fun. Hotels are fully booked and the narrow streets are crowded with wonderful costumes. German, French and English seem to be the main languages. But the spirit of Venice carnival is not quite the same as the great American carnivals. If the key to Rio is music and movements, then in Venice it is the mystery of the masks. As you wander through the streets, you see thousands of masks _elegant or frightened, sad or amu