It was February of 1997, when my family and I lived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We had the Isacson family (our friends from Oregon) spend the night at our home. After an amazing dinner cooked by my mother, followed by a delicious dessert made by Mrs. Isacson, we went to the living room to watch some current event news. As we sat and turned on the TV, what stunned and shocked our guests were the “live” feeds from the streets: partying, drinking and dancing, not to mention the colorful costumes and the nudity of most dancers. It was the annual Carnival. In Brazil, Carnival is the biggest cultural gathering of the year. One whole week is reserved for live music, dancing and partying, and many Brazilians take pride in participating in the parades. Over the years, the celebration has brought about much controversy and sparked the question of whether Carnival has become just another reason to “party,” or if in fact it still has the original cultural and historical purpose.

Home to many world renowned beaches, Brazil is a place which has various outstanding geographical landmarks and is the birth place of a well known dance – the “samba” – along with many other dance styles. However, an occasion which this country has come to be really well known for is the annual Carnival celebration. Carnival can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, where it was used to celebrate the spring equinox, the fertility gods’ agricultural revival, and a hope for rain (Greenbaum). To Christians, it means the coming of spring, beginning four days before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the Lenten season. Similar to Mardi Gras, Carnival gives people a chance to “let loose” prior to the restrictions enforced by Lent. During Lent, Christians prepare for Easter Sunday by fasting or foregoing favorite foods and activities. Essentially, Carnival became a way in which Brazilians came together for the preparation of Easter – a ritual that is both religious and cultural to its people.

It is traditional in Brazil that even if you are not in the actual parade, you are to watch the broadcast from somewhere. Like Christmas and other holidays, businesses are closed throughout the days of Carnival. During this period, mayors ceremonially hand over the keys of their cities to King Momo, an ancient Greek god of mockery and jest; streets are closed to traffic, and thousands gather on the streets and beaches to dance, sing and most importantly cheer the parades (Richard-Jermyn). It is almost impossible not to hear music or see dances in all regions of Brazil during this week, no matter where you are. Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is worldly known, as it attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. Although the actual parade only takes places for a few days, the Carnival preparation for many organizations, such as “escolas de samba,” take up much of the year (Greenbaum). An event that was originally meant to be a short preparation has evolved into a massive celebration of indulgences, and many use it as a means of taking actions that otherwise would be considered against standard societal norms.

For two consecutive weeks in Brazil Carnival becomes the catapult to every major problem such as, underage drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, drunk driving and many more. Because of important figures such as highly known actors and singers but also political figures such as the president himself and his wife, the partying and “letting loose” is looked at with importance and most of all acceptance. During the month of February-the month of Carnival the entire country stops to “enjoy” life, every big city in Brazil will have somewhat a replica of Rio’s Carnival. Especially for teens and younger adults the month of carnival is an enormous influence on them for many of their class mates and friends are involved in such festivities. Children can also be a witness to many of the celebrations sometimes from their own home, whether it’s from their television set or from street parties (“Exageros do Carnaval”). For these reasons just mentioned and many more religious communities such as, Christians, Mormons, Evangelist, some Catholics along with others have organized retreats for their people to escape the influence of Carnival (Carlovich). Having grown up in Brazil I can recall learning about this event in my youth, I was thought the religious aspect of it. However as I grew up and began to notice, I realized that none of what I was thought was looked at nowadays.

The word Carnival comes from the Latin "Carne Vale," which means "Farewell to the Flesh" (Richard-Jermyn). The week of Carnival in Brazil has become a week with virtually no rules for most people. Over the years, living in Brazil and listening to stories, we can see how this celebration has gotten out of control. In some states, the government distributes morning-after pills to women who have had unprotected sexual relations during the Carnival week. In fact, the number of contraceptives given to people is almost an incentive for them to be promiscuous. During the month of February and early March, the amount of alcohol sold and the number of accidents that take place in cities holding parades, as well as other nearby towns is frightening. Needless to say, what once held deep religious meaning to a people has become merely a reason to be reckless, in that they know there will be few or no consequences being that it is a cultural event.

How can we improve the carnival experience to a more balanced safe and family oriented holiday? First the government should invest on more campaigns teaching parents and individuals of the possible risks of massive partying. By developing commercials and print ads with issues faced every year during the Carnival season, people may begin to think otherwise before “letting go” and indulging themselves in certain activities. In 2007 Carnival attracted more than 700,000 tourists to the Brazilian country generating not only thousands of jobs but also millions in revenue to the economy (Digital). Because Carnival has become such an extravagant party and an important role in the Brazilian economy, the government “may” be a little hesitant to establish anything that might interfere with the success. Many companies will close down for a couple of days allowing people to really “enjoy” and often forget responsibilities they would normally have. I believe that if business were to remain open as they would during most holidays the influence of carnival “partying” would somewhat diminish. Nevertheless keeping stores open will truly resolve issues previously addressed and for that reason there has been other approaches, by both local authorities and smaller organizations.

Often times Carnival is thought out to have one issue which is sex and sexually transmitted diseases so there has been much education on the use of condoms and staying protected (Vasco). Several schools in Brazil have now began teaching students to not only protect themselves with condoms but also to avoid certain situations, most of these schools have also adopted a program where parents could come and learn of ways to protect their kids not only from the harm that is increased during Carnival but throughout the year, the program has not had much success since Carnival isn’t perceived as a possible threat to many people. Even with the lack of precaution in Rio the PRF (Federal Transit Police) have began a project in January of 2008 where police officers and other volunteers establish posts on the major highways that connect to where the parades are held. These posts are to educate people of the danger in drunk driving and high speed driving ("PRF faz campanha). Ivonete Maria de Andrade a stay at home mother and wife not only agrees with this new project but believes that is long overdue “This should have taken place long ago because it is something of great importance and it affects us all” (“PRF faz campanha”).

Furthermore hospitals have began to teach society of issues not always looked upon, for instance: people should not forget to rest especially when under the influence of alcohol for the immune system will not be at its best, avoid sharing drinks and intimate contact with others, plan to eat nutritious food prior to leaving your home, avoid the use of drugs especially the use of needles and be careful with the excessive noise (Da Media) Indeed there are several ways one can do to avoid certain casualties, however in my opinion none of it can truly resolve the bigger problem, which is the amount of exposure newer generations are being induced to. It is nearly impossible for Brazil to turn back the clock to a time where Carnival was that of a religious ceremony a time where families of certain religions gathered to embrace and cherish their beliefs.

It is only natural that one would inquire as to the reason for the culture shock which Mr. and Mrs. Isacson experienced. As they looked on and witnessed all of the drinking, dancing, partying and nudity – were they right to feel uncomfortable? Have we managed to turn what is supposed to be a religious celebration into a worldly renowned party streak? Indeed, Carnival has drifted away from its origin by far, creating a new holiday on its own. We have modernized a tradition and allowed it to go from being a religious tradition to adult festivities where sin is vaguely noticed, which explains the Isacsons’ initial surprised and almost frightened reaction. Carnival is no longer just another celebration like Halloween, but rather many use it as an excuse for reckless behavior. Ultimately, it has become a cultural festivity that is considered offensive, or even taboo, by other cultures who are not accustomed to this form of celebration.

Works Cited

Carlovich, Irae. "!ObaOba - Not." !ObaOba: Maior Portal de Baladas, Bares, Mot. 16 Feb. 2004. 04 May 2009 .

Da Media, Jornal. "Hospital d." Jornal da M. 21 Jan. 2005. 04 May 2009 .

"Exageros do Carnaval causam diversos problemas de sa." 10 Feb. 2005. 04 May 2009 .

Freitas, Vasco. "Sexo e pol." 6 Feb. 2004. 04 May 2009 .

Greenbaum, Harry. Brazil (Modern World Nations). New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2003.

Richard, Christopher, and Leslie Jermyn. Brazil (Cultures of the World). New York: Benchmark Books (NY), 2002.