Carnival is a Western Christian 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. Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stock was fully consumed during Shrovetide as to reduce waste. This festival is known for being a time of great indulgence before Lent, with drinking, overeating, and various other activities of indulgence being performed. For example, pancakes, donuts, and other desserts are prepared and eaten for a final time. During Lent, lacticinia and animal products are eaten less, and individuals make a Lenten sacrifice, thus giving up a certain object or activity of desire.
The King's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch's actual birth.
Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival", from carnelevare, "to remove meat."
Bay Area News Group (BANG) is the largest publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including its flagship The Mercury News. A subsidiary of the Denver-based MediaNews Group, its corporate headquarters is in San Jose, California, and publication offices in San Jose and Walnut Creek, although the Walnut Creek location was scheduled to be closed under a 2011 restructuring. Previously known as ANG, the name changed to Bay Area News Group in 2006 after the MediaNews Group bought The Mercury News and Contra Costa Times from McClatchy Co. Most production aspects have now moved to The Mercury News facilities in San Jose, California.
The East Bay Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was founded as the Contra Costa Times, and took its current name in 2016 when it was merged with other sister papers in the East Bay. Its oldest merged title is the Oakland Tribune founded in 1874.
The carnival in Colombia was introduced by the Spaniards. The Colombian carnival has incorporated elements from European culture, and has managed to syncretise, or re-interpret, traditions that belonged to the African and Amerindian cultures of Colombia. There is documentary evidence that the carnival existed in Colombia in the 17th century and had already caused concern to the colonial authorities, who censored the celebrations, especially in the main centers of power such as Cartagena, Bogotá and Popayán. The carnival, therefore, continued its evolution and re-interpretation in the small and at that time unimportant towns where celebrations did not offend the ruling elites. The result was the uninterrupted celebration of carnival festivals in Barranquilla, and other villages along the lower Magdalena River in northern Colombia, and in Pasto, Nariño in the south of the country. In modern times, there have been attempts to introduce the carnival in the capital, Bogotá, in the early 20th century, but it has always failed to gain the approval of authorities. The Bogotá Carnival has had to wait until the 21st century to be resurrected, this time, by the authorities of the city. Colombia is recognized by its large variety of festivals, carnivals and fairs. Most towns have their own, ranging from those celebrating coffee to the ones held in honor of the town's Saint feast. The common characteristics of the festivals are the nomination of a beauty Queen and the setting up of public dance floor.
The Daily Review was a daily newspaper published in Hayward, California. Floyd L. Sparks was owner of the Review from 1944 to 1985, along with The Argus of Fremont and the Tri-Valley Herald.
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event in San Francisco. Held for approximately two weeks following the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. First held in 1851, along what are today Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, it is the oldest and one of the largest events of its kind outside of Asia, and one of the largest Asian cultural events in North America. The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.
The National Dominican Day Parade in New York City is a parade organized by people of Dominican heritage in the city. The event started in 1982 as a local celebration with concerts and cultural events in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Organized by Dominican American community leaders, the parade is held annually each August on 6th Avenue.
The following is a chronological list of Tournament of Roses Parade themes, which were chosen by the Presidents of the Tournament of Roses Association. The new theme is announced when the new president takes office in the third week of January.
The September Celebrations are a pair of holidays in Belize only eleven days apart. They are:
The Argus was a newspaper in the town of Fremont, California. Floyd L. Sparks was the longtime owner of The Argus, along with the Daily Review and the Tri-Valley Herald. It was last owned by Bay Area News Group-East Bay (BANG-EB), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, who purchased the papers from Sparks in 1985.
Aalborg Carnival is the name for the annual cultural event carnival in the city of Aalborg – the fourth-largest city in Denmark.
Carnevale in Italy is a farewell party to eat, drink, and have fun before the limitations and solemnity of Lent. About a month before Ash Wednesday, Italians celebrate over many weekends with parades, masks, and confetti. The origins of this event may be traced to ancient Greece and Rome, when they worshipped Bacchus and Saturn. Some think they date back to archaic winter-to-spring ceremonies. Despite its pagan origins, the event was so extensively celebrated and the tradition so powerful that it was swiftly altered to fit into Catholic rituals. Carnevale is traditionally celebrated on Fat Tuesday, but the weekend prior features activities as well. The most famous carnivals in Italy are those held in Venice, Viareggio, Ivrea, Cento, Apulia and Acireale. These carnivals include masquerades and parades.
Hayward Area Historical Society(HAHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the history of the city of Hayward, California and adjacent communities. These areas include San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Fairview, the former communities of Russell City, Mount Eden, Schafer Park, and other parts of unincorporated Alameda County. The society was founded in 1956. Their museum in Downtown Hayward closed in 2012. Their new facility opened nearby in 2014.
Haitian Carnival is a celebration held over several weeks each year leading up to Mardi Gras. Haitian Defile Kanaval is the Haitian Creole name of the main annual Mardi Gras carnival held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Carnival in Mexico is celebrated by about 225 communities in various ways, with the largest and best known modern celebrations occurring in Mazatlán and the city of Veracruz.
GeorgeFest is held annually in the last weekend of February in the city of Eustis, Florida, to honor Founding Father George Washington. With 122 consecutive events, the Eustis GeorgeFest is the longest ongoing festival of its kind in the United States. The event is sponsored by small donors as well as the Lake Eustis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Eustis.
San Jose Bike Party is a monthly social bicycle ride event in and around San Jose, California held on the third Friday of every month. Attendance varies with weather and time of year, usually ranging from hundreds in the winter months to low thousands in the summer. Established in 2007, it is the original 'bike party' now replicated in other cities around the world. Its motto is "Building community through cycling".
