It's hard to understand Carnevale without drawing up from a plethora of American experiences. The motive of celebration comes from a religious background, much like Mardi Gras. Soon, according to tradition, the people will be called on to fast and to reflect, so now they celebrate while they still can! People dress up like at Halloween, but dance and sing in a way that we can't fathom as Americans. Everyone buys in to the tradition. It only becomes obvious that you are an outsider if you are not dressed up, which happened several times.
I was first hinted at the beginning of real celebration when on my daily walk stumbled on a mass of people in the city center. I diverted my planned route to investigate and found costumed children running around loosely followed by parents and grandparents who were being covered by handfuls of confetti. There were also pockets of pre-teens too cool for costumes who could still celebrate with silly string and handfuls of shaving cream.
I chose to celebrate with some of my friends by taking a trip to Viareggio. Every year there is a celebration by the sea that lasts a month before Lent and is full of all types of activities. We were only there for the day but experienced quite a celebration. There was a parade I could only compare to what I have seen on television every year on Thanksgiving, but am sorry that I can't describe it any better than that. As we say at Meredith College, "You just have to experience it!" We spent the day dancing and singing along ("Y.M.C.A." was played four times in about 6 hours!), throwing confetti on strangers, and staring in complete disbelief at the incredible floats that passed by. On a side note, there were some effigies that made different cultural values evident. If you want to see more of Carnevale, view the pictures and videos in my "Fotografie" link. But for a quick taste of the experience, here's a video I'll leave you (but please excuse the poor videography). Buon divertimento!
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