Carne Vale!

Hello dear readers,

I hope you are all well and that you have enjoyed the weekend.

This was actually the last before Lent. It was time for partying, for putting on masks and fancy dresses and for dancing under the ‘disco ball’! In other words it was Carnival time!!

A bit of history for those who may be interested:

Carnival originated as a pagan festival in ancient Egypt which was then celebrated by the Greeks and the Romans. This popular festival was adopted by the Roman Catholic Christian church in Europe as the festival of Carne Vale. The Carnival festival was transported to the Caribbean by the European slave traders and from there back to Europe.  The word Carnival is made up of two Latin words, carne, meaning meat and vale, meaning farewell. So we actually say goodbye to meat before the beginning of Lent and fasting.

I always add some decorative touches to my house at this time of year and I particularly like masks which resemble the handmade ones made in Venice.

  In the 18th century in Venice, Carnival lasted for six months, from the first Sunday of October till Christmas and then from the day of Epiphany till Lent .It used to start again on the day of the election of a new Doge and on every other occasion worth celebrating! During this time, people used to wear Carnival costumes to go to work or shopping, visit each other or send their letters .I am always fascinated by this. Can you imagine us going around in fancy dresses for half the year! How different would our lives be! Venetians loved the mystery and anonymity; they liked living incognito and the fan and lack of punishment their disguise entailed!

Well, I just said all these, to stress out the fact that those guys really knew how to make a good mask and also how to use it. The masks they still make are really fantastic and they match them with the perfect hat , with feathers  and lace or a small veil. I once had the chance to visit a small workshop of handmade masks and hats in Venice and I was really amazed by how skillfully they were made. 

I bought a  mask for myself , a very simple one but I like it a lot and I always display it  in my house along with other  ones which I have been collecting over the years. A humble collection I would say, which I always enjoy looking at during the few weeks that Carnival time lasts. 

  Well, the party was good fun and lots  of confetti and streamers were used. The masks , hats , wigs and fancy dresses dazzled under the sparkling lights of the disco ball for yet another year . 

We dreamed and pretended to  be someone else , someone we might wish to be or whose face we randomly used just for one crazy, carefree  Carnival night……….

Good night everyone .

                                    

Till next time,

Tina xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx