Limassol Carnival Festival

Limassol Carnival Festival, which is said to be an old custom traced to pagan rituals, is now held as an entertaining event. The local belief is that it is a Hellenistic heritage that dates to pre-Christian times and to an ancient Greek festival honoring Dionysus. However, the first written reference of the carnival is by Nеоphitos Egklistos, who accuses Cypriots of idolatry and accepting an alien tradition of celebrating the start of the Great Fast. The second historical mention is from Christophor Furkher Nirenberg, whо visited Cyprus in 1566 during a journey to the Holy Land. Nirenmberg was impressed by the carnival parades and told a story about how local noblemen organize feasts, where people dance, sing and have fun. As practiced now in Limassol, the carnival is a legacy from the Venetians who ruled Cyprus during the 15th–16th centuries. After some groups broke the ground rules in 2015, the Limassol municipality does not allow offending groups or floats from starting from the Enaerios junction and may intercept them at a later stage with the help of police and security guards. The new rules are as follows: • The number of participants in each group should not exceed 500 people • A large amount of alcohol is not allowed on the floats • No DJ is allowed on board the vehicles • Broadcasting music is forbidden • Loudspeakers must be tuned into the radio frequency broadcasting music for the parade The 2021 edition of the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, people arrived to celebrate the festival as they were allowed to have a "mini parade" which saw them remain in their cars and follow the route that the annual parade would usually take. Later in the day, more people arrived and the event turned into a street party, with most attendees ignoring social distancing rules and not wearing masks. Police eventually intervened. Limassol mayor Nicos Nicolaides said that he was "saddened and disappointed" by the behaviour of the attendees. 28 people and two businesses were fined by the police. ==Importance==

Carnival has been celebrated in Cyprus for over a century, regardless of the political or economic conditions of the time. The epicentre of the Carnival in Cyprus is the seafront city of Limassol, the residents of which have a reputation for being the fun-loving and sociable. Carnival, a ritual which on the eve of spring, is an opportunity for people to express their faith and optimism for a good year. The municipality conducts a minimum of five events, which include an open-air event at Tepak Square. A children's parade, a key event of the carnival, is held on the first Sunday of the festive events. Children customarily dress in carnival costumes and parade down the streets of Limassol. On the Grand Carnival parade the floats theme and the singing are commonly satirical. The Carnival King or Queen could be presented as a satirical figure representing social, political and economic conditions of relevance to Cyprus or Europe in general. On the final day which is the Grand Carnival, more than 150 floats and an estimated 50,000 people take part in the procession. The city's brass band and groups of drummers and mandolin-toting kantadoroi (serenaders) accompany the Carnival King (or Queen). During 2014 the satirical theme was the Carnival King depicted with Euro signs indicative of the economic crisis in Europe. On an earlier occasion the Carnival Queen was presented as Angela Merkel as they had then considered her responsible for the economic crisis in Cyprus. ==Themes==

• The first week of the festival begins on a Thursday with entry of the King Carnival (as a satirical display it could be a Queen also • In the second week of the festival, which is called the cheese week (Tyrini), dairy products are consumed. At the end of the week on a Sunday the celebration includes the Grand Carnival parade which is taken through the Makariou Avenue of Limassol. People from all parts of the island gather to watch the "floats with the serenade and other masqueraded groups." ==Location==

The Limassol Municipality organizes the final Carnival Grand Parade through Makariou Avenue (~), Limassol's high street. ==Images==

File:Carnival in Limassol 2014 (12888019003).jpg|Super Mario costumes in the 2014 carnival File:Carnival in Limassol 2014 (12887788193).jpg|Roman-Hellenic theme in the 2014 carnival File:Carnival in Limassol 2014 (12887388795).jpg|Zeus costumes in the 2014 Carnival File:Grand Carnival Parade 2016.JPG|Ground view of the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Grand Carnival Parade.JPG|Children in the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Grand Carnival Parade random crowd dancing.JPG|Crowd dancing in the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Carnival Parade Group.JPG|Kimono costumes in the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Parade Street Mascots.jpg|Costumes in the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Parade on Makariou from rooftop.JPG|Aerial view of Makariou Avenue from the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Carnival Decoration.jpg|Carnival Decoration in the Limassol Marina, in 2016 File:Limassol Carnival 2016.jpg|Joker costumes in the 2016 carnival File:Limassol Carnival 2016 - 25760581115.jpg|Kimono costumes in the 2016 carnival ==See also==