Importance of Educating young minds .....
For most of us carnival plays an important part in our lives its the day we waiting all year round to let lose and enjoying a hard working year, for those who cant travel its just a way to feel like you in the Caribbean for one day.
Educating the young minds about the true essence of carnival is needed I personally feel more information relating to how carnival started and the true meaning of carnival need to be taught to the youths, maybe they would respect the meaning of Carnival. There is now a generation growing up not knowing a thing about carnival. So I decided to ask two teenagers this question. "what do you know about carnival"?
1st teen- "its the only day in the year we can go on the streets half naked and get man innit".
2nd teen- "its about getting drunk on street"
First thing I have to say is this what have we taught them about carnival but what we show them . This question keep coming back to me is this. Do the young people that actually take part in carnival know about carnival?
The youths that are starting trouble every year do not understand the importance for us to celebrate carnival.
If they do not know anything about carnival why should we blame them .... they just see it as a crowd of people getting together to drink and wear costume. They don't care because they don't know.
coming back to my title the importance of educating the young mind.
Are there any kind of Caribbean studies in schools? During black history month do they talk about Caribbean history or culture?
What is carnival?
It is an annual celebration of life found in many countries of the world. and in fact by learning more about carnival we can learn more about ourselves and a lot about accepting and understanding other cultures.
Where did the word “carnival” come from?
Hundred and hundreds of years ago, the followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent. Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, carnevale — which means “to put away the meat.” As time passed, carnivals in Italy became quite famous; and in fact the practice spread to France, Spain, and all the Catholic countries in Europe.
African influences on carnival traditions
Important to Caribbean festival arts are the ancient African traditions of parading and moving in circles through villages in costumes and masks. Circling villages was believed to bring good fortune, to heal problems, and chill out angry relatives who had died and passed into the next world. Carnival traditions also borrow from the African tradition of putting together natural objects (bones, gr
asses, beads, shells, fabric) to create a piece of sculpture, a mask, or costume — with each object or combination of objects representing a certain idea
Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad's carnival is a beautiful example of how carnival can unite the world. For in this small nation, the beliefs and traditions of many cultures have come together; and for a brief five days each year, the whole country forgets their differences to celebrate life!
Uniting the World
Carnival arts offers all of us a dynamic tool for self-expression and exploration, a tool to seek out our roots, a tool to develop new forms of looking at the world and its cultures, and finally, a tool to unite the world, to discover what we all have in common, and to celebrate what makes us different. The power and creativity that underlies these art forms can transform lives and together we will dance the song of life!
This is carnival we are carnival ......
Educating the youths of today telling them the true meaning and essence of carnival is needed its about cultures, its about people, its happiness, its creativity, its a celebration, its tradition, its believing this one day we are one ....... we are carnival.
more information can be found online educate each other
teach the young so they can pass on the legacy of carnival
Wonderful costumes from my band Bacchanalia Masband
more information can be found online educate each other
teach the young so they can pass on the legacy of carnival
