Time of… Carnival 2016/02/01

Carnival… Time for… parties, masks, floats, candies, but, where do these traditions come from?

MASKS

The origin of masks is untrue, but what is for certain is that the Paleolithic man used them to identify themselves with supernatural forces and await a good harvest.

The Greeks used them for theatrical presentations by indicating simple ‘emotions’ like laughter, crying, fear, etc. and the actors changed them during the presentation of the show.

In the Middle Ages, masks where used by puppeteers, court jesters and in competition games between the districts, to which unknown gentlemen would assist.

During the Renaissance the “Commedia dell’Arte”, popular theater born in the mid XVI century in Italy, gave life to stereotypical characters around them stories were built. Dresses, accessories, makeup or masks made up the character. From here are born the servants Harlequin and Polichinela, doctor Balanzon, Brighella, Pantaleon and the rest.

CARNIVAL FLOATS

In 1873 in Viareggio, Tuscan Italy, a group of rich youngsters started organizing parades un carriages and then decorated floats to which orchestras where added for music and dance.

In 1925 paper Mache made its appearance and was the ideal material to create decorations, since it was light and cheap, it is still used today.

PRANKS

They say that pranks in Carnival go…

The tradition of pranking was born precisely in the period of fun and spree of the carnival. Pranks, jokes, foolery and masks are partners in crime, they are legitimate in this time of the year, with common sense limits.

CONFETTI

During the parades flowers, fruits and candied sweets where thrown and poor people responded with vegetables or rotten eggs…

In the second half of the XIX century Engineer Enrico Mangili, owner of half of the textile industry, had the idea of throwing small paper circles in the float parades, they where scraps from the paper where he cultivated silk worms. They had a scenic and surging effect, which is why industrial production for chunks of different colored paper began.

CANDIES

Carnival = excess, also when eating

The necessity of making quick and cheap sweets for the population that came in the floats, found solution in “frying puff pastry” as the best method to cook and the sugar for finishing.

In those times, always in Italy, ‘Chiacchiere di Carnevale’ are born in Rome (flour, butter, sugar, eggs and a little bit of liquor dough pastry), the ‘Galani or Crostoli’ in Veneto, ‘Cenci’ in Tuscany, ‘Grostoli’, in Trentino, ‘Bugie’, in the Piedmont…

On the other hand soft and round sweets are the ‘Fritoles’ in Veneto the ‘Cattas’ in Cerdanya, the ‘Strufoli’ in Umbria, the ‘Scorpelle’ in Molise, the ‘Fricio’ in Piedmont.

Generally all this baking is similar to funnel cakes of Latin America, with a variation of names in some countries, since they precisely come from Mediterranean coking.

Having said this, Happy Carnival Parties!