Photos from London's Notting Hill Carnival held every August.
Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before
Lent; the main events are usually during 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 and the
Carnevale of Viareggio, Italy, the German
Rhineland carnivals, centering on the
Cologne carnival; the carnival of
Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
Canary Islands; in Andalucia & Galicia (
Spain)
Carnival of Cádiz and in Ourense ; the carnival of
Cape Verde; of
Torres Vedras, Portugal;
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
Rijeka, Croatia;
Barranquilla, Colombia;
Dominican Republic;
Haiti;
Jamaica; the Carnaval and the Llamadas in
Montevideo,
Uruguay and
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. In the United States, the famous
Mardi Gras celebrations in
New Orleans,
Louisiana, and
Mobile,
Alabama, date back to French and Spanish colonial times.
In Britain, the season immediately before Lent was called Shrovetide. It was a time for
confessing sins (shriving) with fewer festivities than the Continental Carnivals. Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as
Pancake Day, but apart from the serving of pancakes and occasional
pancake races and
football matches, little else of the Lent-related Shrovetide survived the
English Reformation. One of the few, if not the only, Shrovetide carnivals in the UK takes places in
Cowes and
East Cowes on the
Isle of Wight. This is the first carnival of the year on the island, and is the start of a long and busy carnival calendar.
The traditional English carnivals take place later in the year, such as the
West Country Carnival in November, associated with
Guy Fawkes Night. African-Caribbean communities organise and participate in Caribbean Carnivals (Caribbean style carnivals) throughout the UK. The best known of these is the annual
Notting Hill Carnival, attracting up to 1.5 million people from Britain and around the world, making it the largest street festival in Europe. The carnival began in 1964 as a small procession of Trinidadians in memory of festivals in their home country. It is held in August.
Leeds West Indian Carnival is Europe's oldest West Indian carnival and now attracts around 130,000 people. Other carnivals include the Leicester Caribbean Carnival and the Birmingham International Carnival.
Luton Carnival, begun 1976, is in May.
St Pauls carnival, an African Caribbean Carnival usually takes place on the first Saturday of July in
Bristol.
Video "CARNIVAL GIRL", TEXAS with Notting Hill after the party:
Video "CARNIVAL GIRL", Texas+Kardinal Offishal live on TV:
"CARNIVAL GIRL"
TEXAS (featuring Kardinal Offishall) 2003
See me in the morning light, a photograph of pure delight.
Yeah, but I left too soon. (I don’t see you girl, ya know)
There were some good times we had, and there were some that weren’t so bad.
Oh, just feel it now, lets feel it now.
RAP (1): Yoh, yo, I remember what we used to do
blink up and dream a living with a notion view
I’ll give you the sun, the stars and the blue sky too.
So come on a leasing want to pleasing you.
Remember when we used to link up with the crew
Suzanne, Suzette and Tanya too.
You’re the one on me side from the out yard view
it’s just a party now, yo, I believe in you, I ain’t leaving you.
CHORUS: OOH, COME ON LET’S GET DOWN TONIGHT,
COME ON LET’S GET DOWN TONIGHT,
JOIN THE CARNIVAL OF LOVE,
OOH, WELL YOU SING IT NOW, TAKE IT NOW,
JOIN THE CARNIVAL OF LOVE. (Come on join in the carnival of love, yeah)
I watch the laughter in your eyes, I see the wrinkles change in size
yeah, time has left you now.
Lovers may have tried to be, everything that’s strange in me
oh, much deeper now, (Much deeper) much deeper now.
RAP (2):, Yo, I used to love it when we used to play,
it used to be like a weekend everyday,
three times a night, right in everyway,
body to body make you scream and say, physically dance.
You’re not easy, take it easy,
only girl, we are love, but man, we got hope,
and you stay on my mind,
so lets go to the carnival, girl. Let me bring you to life.
CHORUS (X 2)
Push it now, push it now. (I believe in you). Stop me now. (X 4)
(I believe in you, I ain’t leaving you)
CHORUS (X 2)
REPEAT RAP 1
