Carnival: a Short History of Carnival Customs and Their Social Function

Essential information on the origins and history of Carnival is provided, together with some remarks about the changes in Carnival practice, which were caused by political changes in Croatia. The author explains the Carnival terminology, discusses the place of Carnival in the Christian calendar, and writes about ancestral masks and the legacy of the Late Antiquity in Carnival customs. He points out some features of the Carnival in general, that have sustained the custom to the present time: the attraction of mask and costume, noisy mock-rebellion, drinking, eating and the exceptional freedoms that are so great that the Carnival as the collection of characters and procedures, as well as of standardized and conventional symbols, outlives its forgotten mythological and religious messages and meanings. A distinction between the two main types of Carnival is introduced. These two types sometimes exist as two components of the same event, but rarely merge completely. The very polysemic nature and the durability of Carnival features and symbols have made it possible for Carnival to exist outside the traditional way of life, along with the constant historically conditioned changes.