Few realise that England has some of the largest annual carnivals in the world. Notting Hill in London is reputedly Europe and possibly the world’s largest, and the Bridgewater Carnival in Somerset the largest illuminated carnival in Europe.

Although it is fairly certain that carnival celebrations date back to the pre-Christian era, modern carnivals come to us from Roman Catholic (and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodox) traditions. Most of Catholic Europe and South America still has a strong carnival tradition, and the best known of all is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a holiday during the Christian fast of Lent.

Carnival virtually disappeared in this country with the Reformation, although we still celebrate Shrove Tuesday as Pancake Day and some Shrovetide football matches are still played. As in most Protestant countries, it became a footnote in our history, although a few towns such as Devizes in Wiltshire have parade charters that go back hundreds of years.

Carnivals have sometimes evolved from fairs, but more often from religious events such as Saint’s Day celebrations, Parish Feasts, Wakes and Whitsuntide processions, and also pagan celebrations such as May Day. Some emerged from anti-Catholic Guy Fawkes celebrations and others from miner’s Galas. Modern carnivals started in their present form late nineteenth century, but most date from the twentieth, with the hey-day of the carnival being in the years immediately following the Second World War.

A survey in 2002 identified 220 traditional English carnivals occurring in that year, but more were thought to exist. The main feature that these had in common is that they received no core public funding. Many were almost entirely organised by volunteers; most also raised money for charities.

Carnival in England has been enlivened over the last forty or so years by the Caribbean influence, and West-Indian style carnivals have received considerable funding and become a popular celebration of our multi-cultural society within the larger metropolitan areas of the country, joined in recent years by Latin American, Asian and Central European communities.

In London, some boroughs still hold summer carnivals, usually involving street parades of floats and individuals in fancy dress costumes, and similar events take place in cities, towns, villages and hamlets throughout England, sometimes at places that barely appear on the map.

The West Country illuminated carnivals go on into late November and have well organised societies who build and run floats; like many other carnival societies they raise funds throughout the year. Events such as those in Tideswell, Derbyshire and Tichfield in Hampshire help to maintain the individuality and traditions of their areas.

The pictures in English Carnival reflect our society and mirror our present and past cultural values. They illuminate an aspect of our culture that makes a real contribution to the identity and social cohesion of communities throughout England.
The photographers

Paul Baldesare, Peter Marshall, Dave Trainer and Bob Watkins have previously exhibited their work in numerous shows, and have been published in a wider range of books and magazines.

Baldesare and Watkins have made a long study of English Carnivals, and received Arts Council funding for their work, which has also been shown in a number of group exhibitions. Marshall’s pictures from the Notting Hill Carnival have also appeared in various shows, and a portfolio of 20 images was published in an American magazine with an essay on carnival. Other work by him has been shown at the FotoArtFestival 2005 in Poland and at FotoArte 2007 in Brazil. Trainer’s work has also been widely shown and featured in the recent exhibition «How We Are: Photographing Britain» at the Tate Britain. All four have all lived and worked in London for many years.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY
St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on or around March 17. It particularly remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century.
Happy people dressed in green on the street.
St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries with people of Irish descent.
©bigstockphoto.com/Stu99
What Do People Do?

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world, especially by Irish communities and organizations. Many people wear an item of green clothing on the day. Parties featuring Irish food and drinks that are dyed in green food color are part of this celebration. It is a time when children can indulge in sweets and adults can enjoy a “pint” of beer at a local pub. Many restaurants and pubs offer Irish food or drink, which include:

Irish brown bread.
Corned beef and cabbage.
Beef and Guinness pie.
Irish cream chocolate mousse cake.
Irish coffee.
Irish potato champ, also known as poundies, cally or pandy.
Irish stew.
Irish potato soup.

Some people plan a pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory, which is commonly associated with penance and spiritual healing since the early 13th century. It is on Station Island in Lough Derg in County Donegal where St Patrick had a vision promising that all who came to the sanctuary in penitence and faith would receive a pardon for their sins.
Public Life

St Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland. St Patrick’s Day is also a festive occasion in some parts of the world where it is not a public holiday. Therefore traffic and parking may be temporarily affected in streets and public areas where parades are held in towns and cities.
Background

St Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He is said to have died on March 17 in or around the year 493. He grew up in Roman Britain, but was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a young adult. After some years he returned to his family and entered the church, like his father and grandfather before him. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary and worked in the north and west of the country.

According to popular legend, St Patrick rid Ireland of snakes. However, it is thought that there have been no snakes in Ireland since the last ice age. The «snakes» that St Patrick banished from Ireland, may refer to the druids or pagan worshipers of snake or serpent gods. He is said to be buried under Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Ireland. Ireland’s other patron saints are St Brigid and St Columba.

Luke Wadding, a Franciscan scholar born in 1588 in Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland, was influential in ensuring that the anniversary of St Patrick’s death became a feast day in the Catholic Church. Many Catholic churches traditionally move St Patrick’s Day to another date if March 17 falls during Holy Week.

Many immigrants from Ireland fled to other parts of the world, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many Irish customs, including the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, became quite popular in these countries. However, much of the interest in the St Patrick’s Day events is largely commercially driven in the 21st century.
Symbols

The most common St Patrick’s Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Many people choose to wear the color green and the flag of the Republic of Ireland is often seen in St Patrick’s Day parades around the world. Irish brands of drinks are popular at St Patrick’s Day events.

Religious symbols include snakes and serpents, as well as the Celtic cross. Some say that Saint Patrick added the Sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. Other Irish-related symbols seen on St Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as a mythological creature known as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that the leprechaun keeps hidden.