Carnivals have been celebrated across all ages, involving a massive movement of people even to the smallest town. Disguises, dances, parades, meals, and, ultimately, a party.
Perhaps most people don’t know the origin of these festivities. They’ll simply think “it’s always been done this way.”
The origin of the word is quite curious: “carne levare” comes from the Latin “carnem levare” and means “to abandon the meat” because Lent begins, a time of penance. As meat was considered an element that encouraged sexuality, carnivals represented a farewell to that food and the beginning of a period of sacrifice and austerity.
If we focus this Lent as preparation for Easter, it is also a time to practice joy, to live the Presence of God. We have the custom of having ashes imposed on our foreheads, as a sign that “we will become dust and to dust we will return.” There is a parish where, instead of ashes, perfume is imposed on the head, because Jesus tells us that when we fast, we should perfume our heads with the joy we live, starting already the beginnings of the Resurrection of Jesus and our new life with the Lord.
We need to read and live the approach of POPE Francis: to be joyful Christians, to recognize the good in ourselves and in others, to care for those in need, to make a world easier for everyone, to celebrate the good in ourselves and in others, to see life positively… Christian life is a journey towards Resurrection and towards a joyful life with the Lord.
If we want humanity to live with dignity, Lent is an opportunity to seriously share with those in need and to create a world in which all people live with dignity. There is a lot of room for sacrifice and charity, but with joy, with colony.
Gerardo Villar
English version translated with AI