A Nation in Celebration

Brazil’s Festival Of Samba, Color and Celebration

Photo from Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Carnival, an annual Brazilian festival held before Lent, is a nation-wide celebration. It features parades, music, dancing, costumes and large public street celebrations.

It takes place each year in February or early March and ends on Ash Wednesday, due to its tie to the Christian calendar. Lent is the 40-day period of fasting and reflection leading up to Easter. Historically, Carnival was a time to enjoy food, celebration and entertainment before the more solemn religious season began. 

In Brazil, Carnival began during the colonial period when the Portuguese introduced a festival called “Entrudo”. Over time, African and Indigenous cultural influences blended with European traditions, shaping samba music, elaborate costumes and grand parades seen today, especially in cities like Rio de Janeiro. By the late 1920s, organized sambas schools were formed, and they still compete against each other in parades today. Today, Carnival attracts millions of tourists, generates billions of dollars for Brazil’s economy and serves as an expression of Brazilian culture.