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Origin
and History of Carnival
Part 2
Christianity and Carnival
Christianity tried in vain to put an end to these
ancient religious festivities but in the end the Roman
Catholic Church stopped its unsuccessful efforts to
abolish them, adapting them to its own traditions
instead.
In the year 1091 the Synod of Benevento declared the
Wednesday following the three days of celebration of the
end of winter and the onset of spring to be Ash
Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday is the
beginning of the period of 40 days of fasting preceding
the ritual commemoration of the Death and Resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
Gradually people came to forget the connection of the
term carnival with pre-Christian feasts. From the 17th
century on, as the festivities of the countryside
entered the cities, the name carnival was generally
identified with these syncretized celebrations.
Traditional Elements of Carnival ?
?Elf? (?Alf?)
As we have seen already, an important element of the
festivities was the chasing away of the bad spirits of
winter. These spirits were believed to be noisy, to
overturn all furniture, shatter roofs and bother the
people. These crazy creatures had to be chased away with
the uproar of whips, bells and musical instruments,
which at the same time could also drive off other
dangerous and wicked creatures.
Elf or Alf in Germanic languages also means 'eleven'.
After the spreading of Christianity the festivities of
St. Martin, which fall on the 11th of November, (the
11th day of the 11th month of the year!) came to be
considered the beginning of wintertime and of the
preparation of carnival.
There exists also the custom of the installation of a
board of 11 members on this day, which assists the
Prince who presides over the preparation of the
festivities of carnival.
Masquerade and Processions
The custom of wearing masks can be found in many
cultures. In pre-Christian traditions the peasants used
clothes, masks and other makeshifts, to impersonate
their ancestors, who had an important place in their
believes.
 As
is still the case in many religions all over the world,
the people tried to please the deceased in order to get
them to comply with their petitions and prayers to
provide in the necessities of the living. By honoring
the dead through their ceremonies, offerings, rituals,
music and dances, they tried to invite them to return
among the living and bring fertility among men, animals
and plants.
But the wearing of masks also had the curious effect of
creating the possibility of shedding the social masks of
everyday life and dodges the rules of conduct imposed by
Christianity.
Processions of the impersonated ancestors accompanied b
special dances, music and rituals had to pass everywhere
in the countryside to ensure the help of the deceased
for good weather and good harvests.
Although their original meaning is now forgotten, we can
easily recognize these old traditions in our costumed
carnival road-marches of today.
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