Carnaval 2010

Carnaval 2010 has arrived...again? Well, sort of. Every year hundreds of thousands of Brazilians get together to celebrate one of, if not the worst holiday in the world today. The original meaning, which was terrible enough to begin with, has been mostly lost (not unlike most holidays in the world) and people spend the extended weekend living as morally depraved as possible.

Some connect the origins of Carnaval celebrations back to the days of the ancient Greeks, but the holiday seems to have originated in Italy from the Catholic holiday Lent. Lent began as a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus and involved self-examination and penitence to prepare one's heart to be closer to Jesus. The primary act of this penitence was self denial in the form of fasting, especially from meat. Later on, it officially became a 40 day celebration, starting 40 days before Easter and beginning on a Wednesday, called Ash Wednesday (the ashes were meant to be a sign of repentance and grieving of sins). At a certain point, Italian Catholics began a celebration the day before Ash Wednesday called Carnaval, which means, "to put away the meat." This putting away of the meat became a huge party where people wore masks to hide their identities enabling all excesses to be experienced to the fullest, including meat, dancing, singing, drinking, sex, etc. It was the final chance to "live it up" before they had to give things up for Lent.

Obviously, this holiday is completely hypocritical in nature. If you want your heart to be right to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, celebrating Carnaval should not be one of the things you do. A heart that is right with Jesus and that shows true repentance, turns us from our former sinful ways to follow Him. It certainly does not look to indulge in the depths of sins for as long as possible.

Well, here in Brazil, Carnaval is celebrated by pretty much all people (minus Christians of course), and it seems to have lost much of its Catholic tradition. I hear people talk quite a bit about how it is a cultural event, or a celebration of life, or a celebration of Brazil. But I rarely hear any talk about Lent and nothing about Jesus' Resurrection. Moreover, the celebration is more than just one day; it lasts a week and half now! Last weekend began the Pre-Carnaval celebration and this weekend begins the actual Carnaval. So Carnaval is here...again.

People will be drinking like fish, the government will hand out free condoms for people to "enjoy" and many people will be getting naked or half naked in the name of culture. But the problem with this "holiday" is the aftermath of the wildness. When people come to party and do not have sufficient funds to buy the "supplies" they need, they end up robbing others so that they can enjoy the celebration too. Moreover, there are more reported cases of Hepatitis, STD's, and pregnancies after Carnaval than any other time of year in Brazil. Anytime someone promotes this type of wildness, there is always going to be unwanted consequences.

So this weekend, we will spend most of our time at home. We try to avoid the wildness and the mostly naked people "celebrating" culture, or life, or whatever they are celebrating. But we will be having church like always. We will be trying to go against the current of society by teaching the Bible and talking about Jesus! It is really difficult to fight against the current, but it is exactly our goal.

I find it interesting, have you ever thought about how powerful of an influence your culture is on your life. Most American Christians spend far more time pursuing the American Dream rather than the Will of God. When we have gone home to the states for a visit, we rarely hear people talk about what God is doing or teaching them, but we frequently hear about the new things people have bought or the things they are redoing in their houses or cars. I find it a bit sad that culture and society seems to have more pull over a person that God, the Creator of the Universe. I hope that this article can make you think a little more about how you are living. If you are following the flow of the culture you live in, you probably are not following Jesus!