Carnival's you most DEFINITELY don't want to miss out on! Written by Hema Dixons

Carnival is the place to be for this summer! Carnival is the place where you let loose and leave any problems or issues you're facing at home, and just have fun. It's also that one time of year where you can truly get to be yourself and dress up in colourful costumes. As it only happens twice a year on the days 27th and 28th of August, you better start planning from now so that you can dress up to get into the spirit and partake in the fun and not to mention it's all for free!

Carnival happens in a variety of countries all over the world. The countries that are known for celebrating one of the best carnivals besides from the uk of course are: Jamaica, America, Brazil, Canada and Spain. One thing thing all these countries have in common when it comes to carnival, is that they all have similar costumes which are elaborated feathered costumes, as it symbolises rebirth.

So, if you ever visit Jamaica around April, that's when they celebrate their Carnival. Caribbean carnival originated in Trinidad & Togo in the late 18th century. Carnival in Jamaica is known for being one of the most popular and most exciting Carnival in the Caribbean. They like to parade the streets of Kingston either on floats or by walking. Plan ahead if you ever want to experience carnival in the Caribbean as the hotel rooms tends to get booked up in a year advanced.

Carnival in America is celebrated in New Orleans, Louisiana. Americans celebrate carnival on the 6th of January and the reason for this is so that they can use that time to eat, drink and have fun before the fasting and sacrifice they have to do during Lent. The earliest carnival celebration in North America happened in the 17th century in Mississippi. The streets of New Orleans are filled with parades, balls and other celebrations that leads up to Mardi Gras (French for FatTuesday) which is always done on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

(Lent is a spiritual journey that goes on for a period of 40 days where you fast and pray. You use that time to give up on all the things that tempt you to do negative things such as staying away from social media as well as giving to charity)

Carnival festivities in Brazil started in the 18th century. Carnival in Brazil has to also be celebrated before Ash Wednesday. Their carnival this year will be held in April in the streets of Rio de Janeiro where there will be colourful costumes, samba music, dance, grand parades and food festivals. As there are a lot of Samba dancing going on, the costumes that the dancers wears has to be minimal to give them the freedom to dance and to make them feel lighter.

(Ash Wednesday is a food festival where Catholic worshipers feasted in preparation for the following 40 days of lent that started on Ash Wednesday)

Toronto Carnival celebrates the vibrant and energetic essence of the Caribbean culture. It is held each summer in the city of Toronto Ontario in Canada. Carnival will take place this year in July for 4 days. Carnival first begun in the 20th century in Canada around 1967. It was also formerly known as Caribana, as part of Canada's Centennial celebrations.

Carnival in Spain is an event all on its own where both young and old people have a great time without breaking the bank. Usually, there are days of street parades, costume contests, street theatre, and general partying. This year, carnival in Spain was held on the 24th of February to the 4th of March at the Canary Islands.

The origins of carnival dates back many centuries. The celebrations that spread across Europe during the Middle Ages were strongly tied to religion. During the 40 days of Lent, Christians were deprived of certain pleasures like eating meat, doing fun things, etc. That’s why just before Lent starts, each year people celebrate a few days of non-stop partying to eat as much meat as possible and have all the fun they can before the 40 days of abstention. Over time, what began as a way of preparing for Lent became what we know today as carnival!

Carnival is known for being one of the world's biggest party and has been around for many, many years. Carnival is an annual festival celebrated all over the world and it involves dancing, music and other entertainments combining some elements of circus.

Carnival hasn't always been as vibrant as it is now. In fact, carnival back in the olden days, was celebrated through masquerade balls, house parties and street parades with carriages. Other common features of Carnival included mockery battles such as food fights, costumes of exaggerated features such as large noses, bellies and mouths or elements of animal bodies. Carnival till this day in some countries, occurs during February or early March due to many people going on a fast during Lent giving up on meat, sugar and other foods and drinks.