DigiNepal · festivals
Carnival (Rio de Janeiro and worldwide) (Carnaval (Portuguese, Spanish)). Region: Brazil, Caribbean, Venice, Cologne, New Orleans (Mardi Gras), worldwide. Tradition: Christian pre Lent festival. Calendar: Easter minus 47 days (Shrove Tuesday). Dates: Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), with Rio Carnival peaking on the preceding days 2026: Tuesday 17 February 2026 [computed]; Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), with Rio Carnival peaking on the preceding days 2027: Tuesday 9 February 2027 [computed]; Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), with Rio Carnival peaking on the preceding days 2028: Tuesday 29 February 2028 [computed]. History and significance: Carnival is a season of feasting and parades before the fasting period of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It grew from medieval European customs and spread to the Americas, where Rio de Janeiro's samba school parades became the world's largest carnival. Venice is known for masks and New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Its date moves with Easter. Key rituals and foods: Samba parades, masks and costumes, street parties; foods include pancakes, king cake and fried pastries. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.