CARNIVAL IN FOREIGN LANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 72, 24 March 1923, Page 17

CARNIVAL IN FOREIGN LANDS.

A TIME OF BOISTEROUS FESTIVITY. 1 \;y .1.D.1...1 The ruMom r> f holding carnival revels Is growing in N< v Zealand—formerly little notice •.••;.* taken of the festive j occasion. Uu: «. ■'■■■ Mill njmis! way; from attflinii.y '.: < ''" el>nuions ] Thiehma.k h.-um f.uvijin cunt ie,. The j carnival n.-T..l.rati..i.- .-.in be traced back j to Roman tiin«-=. *v ••v" * r ' » more remote antiquity, though to-djy they are generally a f.-uiin «.f liio I'iitUHc countries 01 Ku:"l"" and Latin \mcrica. ShIOVC Til-!.') .Known in France as j jlarJi Hra? • i.- tin- principal day for pro- j cessions and |n:Ml; iminifertaliuTis, | though the rev, U last for :i weok. At j no time due.- Pari- merit the title of llio j ••gay city" a> during this fontive occaBion, for the l'n-n.-i, throw themselves into the in.'MU,. lit nf mirth with a zest which is unknown in Anglo-Saxon countries, which reminds of the l-'ruuch saving thai ' the Knglish take their pleasure.-, sadly,' , and such is the impression of a foi"iyni'r wnn walks down Queen Street mi New Wai's Daw In | Nice and tin' Hivicni in gen.-nil the car-! nival is proverbial for its .-plcn.lour—but the Kivii-ra i< tne shou;.laco 01 the' Mediterrallc.ul. In the NV\\ World also the Frenchman has carried tho carnival with him. and in Kew Orleans (wliieli wa.- formerly a French city), Mardi (.Iras, still known by its French name, is an annual festival which is looked forward to for months in advance. Then tlic <hv is gaily decorated, and alive with bauds, music, and procesbions. There is nothing; tawdry about these processions, which are got up with great expense. Business is suspended for days at a nine, and tho, country flock into the city in their thousands to witness the revels. In Buenos Aires masquerading is general. There are. masquerader* on foot, on ■horsebjicjj. and 011 bicycle*, not. to mention motor cars, though at tho time when the writer knew the great South American city motor cars woTe not so much in evidence. But one has to be careful, for the Tarnival time is the harvest of the criminal. The disguises allowed at this period, together with the general relaxation of police regulations, give him just the opportunity which he wishes. A friend of the writer's was knocked down ami robbed of his watch and valuables by a party of thieves during the carnival celebrations. This was in broad daylight, in a crowded street, and the thieves, who were disguised as niasqueruders. escaped llany other robberies took place on the same day, Borne of them apparcntlv, by the same gang. Egg-shells full of scented water arc thrown on passers-liy; but there are larrikins in every city, and the water is not always scented, nor even clean. Others squirt the water from syringes, some of them of inordinate size. A shopman is standing at the door watching the revels, when a shopgirl next door rushes out with a squirt and deluges him ■with scented water. But he, too, has, not one, but two squirts up his sleeve, and he retaliates by holding out one, pistol-like, in each hand, fairly drenching his fair assailant, and laughs boisterously as she hastens to escape indoor* These squiHs are so made that they can be operated with one hand, the water being pressed out on the principle of the paint in a collapsible metal tube. The balconies overhanging the street are filled with spectators, who watch the revels and add to them by throwing long serpentines of many colours, which hang in long festoons from window to window across the streets. Confetti, likewise of many colours, are also thrown, till the streets are filled with a mass of multi-coloured paper. The cleaning up after the carnival must cost something, though there are persons who 'buy the debris of serpentines and the general litter, for what purpose is not known. The police are kept busy, and the courts are always crowded during the days which follow. Yet, the casual observer sees little rowdiness, which would promptly be suppressed liy the police, and no drunkenness, though this is a country in which teetotallers are conspicuous by their absence. During the carnival week, human nature seems to undergo a change. The man who is staid and serious during the rest of the year, suddenly'becomes seized with a desire for gaiety, and rushes about squirting scented water on the passers-by. Acta •which would be reckoned indecorous during the rest of the year are quite allowable at carnival time. It is allowable fora nasquerader to stop strangers on the street, even ladies, and indulge in harmless 'bandim.ge, provided there is no coarseness or bad taste shown. Indeed, it is impossible to tell whether the party who accosis one under masquerade disguise is a friend or a stranger, and full advantage is taken of this fact. The carnival to the Frenchman, Spaniard, or Italian i< a week of relaxation from the rigid etiquette which binds him for the ret of the year. There are diversions of all kind-, especially horseracing. 7n some cities, such as Rome, they hav P races with riderless horses; one imagines the horses must be speeiRlly trained fur the purpose. In countries like Spain. .Mexico and Brazil (in which latter country the carnival ifl known as the Kntrudol, therv are al-o bull-fights. At night-time tin-works are in demand, and in Brazil they have a special fondness for paper balloons, some of them of great size and fantastic shapes, naiiy of thiMii representing the Sgure of a man. The And" Saxon has not developed this natural tendency of the Latin race to "hold high carnival." though he likes to take part ill the revels is a spectator. The Americans show a greater spirit of rcvplry on festive occasions, as on 1 iie 'glorious Fourth," when firework- and band-playing are aiuch in evidence; but even in some parts af the United >Statei. a= in Louisiana (which was formerly French and Spanish) carnival still survives in its ancient splendour.