As seen in True Colors, the Elder Races have their own
Christmas celebration called the Masque, which culminates in The
Festival of the Masque, a masked ball that takes place on the winter
solstice. For the next week, join us in celebrating the Masque with
seven days of winter solstice giveaways. Every day you’ll have a chance
to enter to win a gift pack that includes one copy of Lord’s Fall, a bookmark, dragon soap made by Thea Harrison, a coupon for 30% the Elder Race novellas (including True Colors),
and a holiday card from Thea. To enter, just comment on the daily posts
and then enter your information via the Rafflecopter form (embedded in
the post or click on the link). You can gain extra entries by signing up
for Thea’s newsletter and tweeting about the giveaway.
Once again, thank you all for your interest in Thea’s novels and happy holidays!
Life’s a Stage: the World of Carnevale
Today many places in the world are famous for their carnivals, but
Venice’s Carnevale was the first, brightest, and most comprehensive. It
started as an event officially sponsored by the state in the 12th
century, but its roots go back to ancient pagan festivals.
Carnevale in Venice wasn’t strictly scheduled as it is today. It
could happen at any time before the start of Lent; and by the the 18th
century, it lasted six months out of the entire year. During Carnevale,
anyone who appeared in public wore a mask: tourists, beggars,
artistocrats, and even the Doge himself. One visitor to Venice described
seeing a mother in a mask nursing a masked baby! The play, anonymity,
and unreality of Carnevale gradually became part normal life.
To say Carnevale was a world of unreality would be putting it mildly.
When people wore masks in Venice, their identities were completely
subsumed into the characters they were dressed as. Beneath the Carnevale
masks, everyone in Venice was equal: men and women, paupers and
princes. It was actually illegal to unmask or even touch someone on the
streets (a law that was completely unenforcable), and tourists who
donned masks and didn’t act like the characters of the mask (usually
borrowed from the commedia dell’arte) were beaten in the streets.
Shakespeare may have meant “All the world’s a stage,” as a metaphor, but
in Venice during Carnevale, it was the literal truth.
Napoleon outlawed Carnevale when he conquered Venice in 1797 and,
having annexed it into his Kingdom of Italy, put a period on the history
of the oldest republic in Europe. The Carnevale as we know today was
revived in 1979 as a way to attract tourists, and is a low-key imitation
of the Carnevale that used to exist in Venice. It’s sponsored by
corporate backers, not the state, and is essentially a costume party
devoid of the social and political implications Carnevale used to have.
Yet in a way, the pure commercialization of Carnevale was inevitable.
It’s always been a way to attract tourists to the city and a symbol of
the uniqueness of Venice; now more so than ever.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the traditional masks of Carnivale.
Today, to enter the contest, leave a comment on this post and fill out
the Rafflecopter form.
Remember, to enter the giveaway you must use the Rafflecopter form.
Winners will be randomly selected and notified December 23rd. All
contest entries close December 22nd at 11:59 MST. This contest is open
internationally.
The giveaway it's organized by the author.
The giveaway it's organized by the author.
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