Collection: It's the carnival season Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during January and February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, masque and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. Carnival is a festival traditionally held in Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox societies. Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions, such as the Danish Carnival or other Shrove Tuesday events. The Brazilian Carnaval is one of the best known celebrations today, but many cities and regions worldwide celebrate with large, popular, and days-long events. These include the Carnevale of Venice, Italy, the German Rhineland carnivals, centering on the Cologne carnival; the carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; of Torres Vedras, Portugal; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rijeka, Croatia; Barranquilla, Colombia; Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In the United States, the famous Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, date back to French and Spanish colonial times.

Brazilian Carnival The Brazilian Carnival, properly spelled Carnaval, is an annual festival in Brazil held four days before Ash Wednesday, the day of fasting and repentance that marks the beginning of Lent. Brazilian Carnival exhibits some differences from its European counterparts, having mixed Euro, Native and African elements. Furthermore, rhythm, participation, and costume vary from one region of Brazil to another. For example, in the southeastern cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo , organized parades led by samba schools vie for prizes on the "sambodromo" open stage. Only samba-school affiliates participate in the shows. Smaller cities often have no public events but promote balls in recreational clubs. The northeastern cities of Salvador, Porto Seguro and Recife have organized groups parading through streets, but watchers are also welcome to dance. They follow the "trio el¨¦trico" floats through the city streets.

Carnival of Binche, Belgium The Carnival of Binche is an event that takes place each year in the Belgian town of Binche. Each year, it is renowned for attracting an increasing number of people to Binche and Belgium itself, but it, in particular, attracts many visitors from France. As such, it provides an important tourism source for Belgium and specifically the town of Binche. The carnival is religious in several ways, for it ends just one day before Ash Wednesday, and a collection is taken on the last day of the Carnival, so it is a quite Catholic religious event.

Cologne Carnival, Germany The Cologne Carnival is a carnival that takes place every year in Cologne, Germany. Traditionally, the "fifth season" (carnival season) is declared open at 11 minutes past 11 on the 11th of November. The Carnival spirit is then temporarily suspended during the Advent and Christmas period, and picks up again in earnest in the New Year. The time of merrymaking in the streets is officially declared open at downtown square Alter Markt on the Thursday before the beginning of Lent. Street carnival, a week-long street festival, also called "the crazy days", takes places between the Thursday (Women¡¯s Carnival Day) before Rose Monday and ends on Ash Wednesday. The highlight of the carnival is Rosenmontag ("running Monday") which takes place on the Monday.

Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia The Carnaval de Oruro (or Carnival of Oruro) is the biggest annual cultural event in Bolivia. It was declared one of Mankind's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2001. Celebrated in Oruro, the folklore capital of Bolivia, the carnival marks the Ito festival for the Uru people. Its ceremonies stem from Andean customs, the ancient invocations centreing around Pachamama (Mother Earth, transformed into the Virgin Mary due to Christian syncretism) and Tio Supay (Uncle God of the Mountains, transformed into the Devil). The highlight of the Carnival is conducted over three days and nights, with fifty groups parading through the city over a route of four kilometres. The groups represent various indigenous dance forms, and are accompanied by several bands. Over 28000 dancers and 10000 musicians participate in the procession that lasts 20 hours. The dances include Caporales, Diablada, Kantus, Kullawada, Llamerada, Morenada, Potolo, Pujllay, Suri Sikuris, Tinku, Tobas and Waca Waca.

Carnival in Colombia The carnaval in Colombia was introduced by the Spaniards. The Colombian carnaval has incorporated elements from European culture, and has managed to syncretise, or re-interpret, traditions that belonged to the African and Amerindian cultures of Colombia. The carnival, therefore, continued its evolution and re-interpretation in the small and at that time unimportant towns where celebrations did not offend the ruling elites. The result was the uninterrupted celebration of carnaval festivals in Barranquilla (Barranquilla Carnival), and other villages along the lower Magdalena River in northern Colombia, and in Pasto, Narino (Blacks and Whites Carnival) in the south of the country. In modern times, there have been attempts to introduce the carnival in the capital, Bogot¨¢, in the early 20th century, but it has always failed to gain the approval of authorities. The Bogota Carnival has had to wait until the 21st century to be resurrected, this time, by the authorities of the city.

Carnival in Encarnacion, Paraguay Encarnacion is a city in southeastern Paraguay. Because of its mild climate Encarnacion is often called "The Pearl of the South". It is the "Carnival" Capital of Paraguay, a yearly celebration of mostly Brazilian music and dance.

Esmeraldas Carnival, Ecuador Esmeraldas is a city in Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and the capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international sea port and a small airport. Esmeraldas city is a major seaport of northwestern Ecuador. It lies on the Pacific coast at the mouth of the Esmeraldas River.

Editor: Yangtze Yan