Carnival

Can you tell me something about English carnival please? Thank you. Monica

Carnival is an event that British people tend to associate with Italy (particularly Venice) and Brazil, even though it is celebrated all over the world. There is, however, the “Notting Hill Carnival,” but this takes place on August Bank Holiday weekend. It began in the 1960s, in an attempt to improve relations between white Londoners and the West Indian immigrant community (after the Notting Hill race riots of 1959).
The advent of Lent (Quaresima) is celebrated in Britain in a different way.  Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras, Martedi Grasso) is the subject of a famous parade in New Orleans (USA) and a colourful Gay Pride Parade in Sydney (Australia), but the British simply make pancakes.
The town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight used to organize a carnival parade on Shrove Tuesday but the tradition was abandoned. It was revived a few years ago, but now it takes place at the end of July. One of the reasons why the British don’t have carnival parades in the winter is because of the bad weather!