The carnival is the national festival, the most popular in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It takes place each year between Epiphany and Lent, during the 4 days preceding Ash Wednesday.

At the Brazilian carnival, the festival called the Entrudo (Latin introitus, which means entry) marks the beginning of Lent. The Entrudo is a chaotic event where participants throw mud, water, and food at each other in a street.

The carnival is the national festival, the most popular in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It takes place each year between Epiphany and Lent, during the 4 days preceding Ash Wednesday.

The Samba is a musical genre and a popular dance form in Brazil. It is the national dance of Brazil with a musical style that comes from the fusion of Portuguese and African rhythms.

The Samba is a musical genre and a popular dance form in Brazil. It is the national dance of Brazil with a musical style that comes from the fusion of Portuguese and African rhythms.

A Samba School (ecolas de samba in portuguese) in Brazil, mainly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, is a social and cultural structure. Its main goal is participation in the official competition at the carnival of the city in which each school presents the work of a year, trying to gain maximum points to win. Each year at the carnival, various groups of samba schools parade.

The Sambodrome, ("sambódromo" in portuguese) also called the Avenida Marquês de Sapucaí, is a hall where best samba schools parade during the carnival. At the carnival, each year 2 schools of the best bands parade in the sambodrome of the city, others march along the streets of the city.

The Carnival of Venice takes place every year in late February or early March, during the twelve days before Mardi Gras, attracting large crowds from around the world to participate in the festival. It has become a global tourist attraction famous for its costumes and masks.

The Carnival of Nice is the first carnival of France. It takes place in Nice, in February for two weeks.

The Battle of Flowers (Bataille des Fleurs in Ffrench), a famous flower show which takes place during the Nice Carnival is presented in the form of a parade of twenty floats where young men and women throw flowers to the spectators. Troops of music pour in from the four corners of the globe.

The Carnival of Binche is most famous in Belgium, attracting each year more and more visitors from around the world. The 'Gilles' or the priests of the carnival wearing wax masks are the main characters of the Carnival of Binche.

The 'Gilles' or the priests of the carnival wearing wax masks are the main characters of the Carnival of Binche.

The hat of Gilles or the priests of the carnival, the main characters of the Carnival of Binche in Belgium, are covered with ostrich feathers measuring 1.50 m.

In Paris, Mi-Karem or Mid-Lent is traditionally the festival of women. Mid-Lent, an ancient catholic feast, also called the Feast of laundresses, which along with the Promenade du Boeuf Gras, is one of two major celebrations of the Carnival of Paris.

The snowman called Bonhomme Carnaval is the mascot and logo of the Quebec Winter Carnival. This is a common tradition, widespread in countries having long winter months.

The Quebec Carnival is the largest winter carnival in the world. The impressive Ice Palace (Palais de Glace), a major attraction visited by visitors from all around the world is built to lodge Bonhomme, the mascot and logo of the Quebec Winter Carnival.

 The Touloulou is the most famous character of the Carnival of French Guiana. She is the queen of Carnival, a lady elegantly dressed from head to foot which represents the bourgeois women of the 18th and 19th centuries.

On Ash Wednesday, the mascot of the King of Carnival nicknamed Vaval is burnt or cremated (a ceremony called "Grand brilé Vaval") which signals the end of the festivities. Everyone marches in black and white mourning Vaval, and then begin the forty days of Lent.

Mardi Gras came to America from Mobile, a city in Alabama in 1703. In 1857, members of a Mobilian mystical society then brought Mardi Gras to New Orleans.

'Galette des Rois' (Cake of the Kings), a specialty of France, is a cake celebrating Epiphany and is traditionally eaten and sold during Mardi Gras. A Galette des Rois is a round flat cake made of puff pastry filled with frangipani, a thick almond paste. According to tradition, a fava bean is hidden in it and the person who gets the bean becomes king for the day and has the right to wear a crown of fantasy.

A "King Cake" is the specialty of New Orleans served during Mardi Gras. The King Cake tradition dates back to 1872. It is a braided cinnamon cake covered with a glaze of the three carnival colors : purple, green and gold.

A plastic baby (sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) is hidden in the King Cake of New Orleans and the person who gets this baby is the king of the day and has the right to wear a crown of fantasy .