Brasil
World Wide Customs: Brasil BRASIL: Carnival (in Portuguese: Carnaval) is a Catholic event by origin, but is also rooted in European pagan traditions. Originally, Carnival was a food festival , because it was the last time to eat abundantly before the 40 days of Lent, a period of frugality starting on Ash Wednesday. Legend says the word 'Carnaval' was derived from the Latin expression 'carne vale' which translates as 'farewell to the meat'. Gradually the tradition was created to go once a year onto the streets to have a party together . Musical styles and other customs merged over time. Only in 1917 this culminated in the invention of the samba , very much a product of the mutual love for music of the former colonists and the former slaves. In Rio de Janeiro, the first samba schools were established in the early 1920s; the first sa...