Carnival day, let's party!

Today here in Portugal is Carnival Day!  All over the country, there are several parades and events.  Down here in the Algarve our big one is in Loule, but they also have them in Torres Vedres and Lisbon amongst others.  Every year thousands of people attend these parades which usually run all over the weekend, but today, Tuesday is the proper day to celebrate.  Loule this year is expecting 60,000 visitors over the period!

The tradition of Carnival is practiced in mainly catholic countries to mark the beginning of lent or six weeks before Easter.  People would have a big party and feast themselves on rich foods before they gave it up for lent.  The Brazilian carnival in Rio de Janeiro, is the biggest in the world.  Each carnival is slightly different but generally involve bright, exotic costumes, masks, dancing and music.  They also have themed floats and cars.

This year with the crisis, many areas have reduced the funding for the event but will still put on a great show. It also means most things are closed and many people take the day off, despite what the Government says.