L‘Epiphany has taken away, with great regret, all the celebrations, but once one goes, the other soon arrives and soon the parents will find themselves grappling with masks and confetti to celebrate Carnival. Unlike other holidays, however, this is one moveable feast and this means that there is no fixed date that opens the celebrations.
When does Carnival start?
The dates therefore change every year: the most important days are undoubtedly the Shrove Thursday and the Shrove Tuesday. If last year they fell on February 16th and February 21st, this year they will fall on February 8th and 13th. Carnival Sunday will be the 11th. Since there are two rites, Roman and Ambrosian, the festivity ends on 13 February 2024 on the day of Shrove Tuesday according to the Roman rite, the Saturday following the beginning of Lent is the Ambrosian one.
There is no fixed date
The reason why the dates are variable is due to the correlation with the Easter holiday, which is equally mobile. Carnival, in fact, anticipates Lent, which in turn precedes Easter. Shrove Tuesday, which this year falls on February 13, 2024, marks the beginning of Lent which starts with Ash Wednesday, February 14th. The term “fat” is precisely because it would be the last day on which it is possible to eat meat and gorge oneself with all the excesses of the case before moving on to the austere Lenten diet.
The Venice Carnival (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
Carnival celebrations in Italy
Carnival is very popular in Italy and several cities are characterized by very typical celebrations. The Venice celebrations are known throughout the world and those of Viareggio last almost a whole month with a program full of events. There are also others, however: that of Hundredfor example, which is even twinned with that of Rio, while in Fano the tradition has been carried on since 1347.
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