Carnival (see other spellings and names) is a Western Christian and Greek Orthodox festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks, and a public street party. People wear masks and costumes during many such celebrations, allowing them to lose their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods proscribed during Lent is extremely common. Other common features of carnival include mock battles such as food fights; social satire and mockery of authorities; the grotesque body displaying exaggerated features, especially large noses, bellies, mouths, and phalli, or elements of animal bodies; abusive language and degrading acts; depictions of disease and gleeful death ; and a general reversal of everyday rules and norms.
The term Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic presence, as well as in Greece. The Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country in Asia, also celebrates Carnival (or Mardi Gras). In historically Evangelical Lutheran countries, the celebration is known as Fastelavn, and in areas with a high concentration of Anglicans (Church of England / Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Methodists, and other Protestants, pre-Lenten celebrations, along with penitential observances, occur on Shrove Tuesday. In Slavic Eastern Orthodox nations, Maslenitsa is celebrated during the last week before Great Lent.
