This document contains summaries of carnivals in several locations written by students. It describes the carnivals of Patras, Athens, and Xanthi in Greece; the carnival of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil; the Phuket carnival in Thailand; and the customs associated with Clean Monday in Greece and Cyprus. The carnivals involve parades, costumes, dancing, food, and other celebrations.

1. SCHOOL NEWS
CARNIVAL 2017
ISSUE FEB. 2017

2. CARNIVAL IN GREECE
The Carnival includes a lot of
customs which most of us know.
Dressing up in weird clothes and
other celebrations take place in a
lot of cities and towns. A big
carnival takes place every year in
Patras, Athens and Xanthi. On the
last day of the carnival floats are on
the streets and people have fun
with painting, singing and playing.
By Kimonas V.
THE CARNIVAL OF
XANTHI
One of the most beautiful things in
the city of Xanthi is its carnival that
takes place every year.
At the end of February, the city
throws a huge carnival full of fun
games and colorful costumes. The
carnival is on for three days, that is,
Saturday, Sunday and Clean
Monday. On Saturday there are
clowns, parties and parades all
around the city. On Clean Monday
people have a big meal with their
families and friends. The carnival of
Xanthi is really fun and you should
check it out.
By John L.

3. THE CUSTOMS OF
“CLEAN MONDAY”
Clean Monday is a public
holiday in Greece and Cyprus,
where it is celebrated with
outdoor excursions, the
consumption of shellfish and
other fasting foods. On that
day people eat “lagana” which
is a special kind of azyme
baked bread. Last but not
least, there is the widespread
custom of flying kites.
THE CUSTOM OF
“GAITANAKI”
The custom of “Gaitanaki” is
an old custom from Asia Minor
and it takes place in the
central square of many towns
all over Greece during the
period of the Carnival. Colorful
ribbons are tied to the top of a
long pole and in the middle of
a circle. The people dance
holding the ribbons. While
dancing the ribbons are
wrapped and then unwrapped
round the pole offering a great
spectacle.
(custom= έθιμο consumption=
κατανάλωση takes place=
λαμβάνει χώρα square= πλατεία
ribbons= κορδέλες pole= στύλος
are wrapped= τυλίγονται
unwrapped= ξετυλίγονται
spectacle= θέαμα)
By Peter

4. THE CARNIVAL OF
RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro ( River of
January), or simply Rio, is the
second-most populous
municipality in Brazil. Rio de
Janeiro is the capital of the
state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's
third-most populous state.
Part of the city has been
designated as a World
Heritage Site, named "Rio de
Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes
between the Mountain and the
Sea", by UNESCO on 1 July 2012
as a Cultural Landscape.
CARNIVAL IN
THAILAND
The Phuket Carnival in
Thailand takes place every
year from the 15th to the 20th
December in Patong beach.
Visitors and locals watch and
participate in fancy parades,
firework display and street
performances. The spectacular
parades are held on the first
and the last day of the Phuket
Carnival. Souvenirs are
provided to all the participants
in the Carnival. During the
Carnival all the food stores
give free traditional treats and
drinks. The Phuket Carnival is
the most famous Carnival in
Thailand.
By Kostas, K.

5. RIO'S CARNIVAL
The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
(Portuguese: Carnaval) is a
festival that takes place before
Lent every year. It is considered
the biggest carnival in the
world with two million people
every day on the streets. The
first festivals of Rio date back
to 1723.
The typical Rio carnival parade
is full of trimmings, floats and
revelers from various samba
schools which are located in Rio
(more than 200, divided into 5
divisions). A samba school
consists of a collaboration of
local neighbors that want to
participate in the carnival and
have some kind of common
geographical background.
There is a special order that
every school has to follow
during the parade. Each group
is made up of ten to fifteen
people. Each school begins with
the group of people from the
school that appear first. These
people have prepared dances
in fancy costumes that usually
tell a short story.
DRESS UP AS YOU WANT &
LET'S GO TO RIO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Antony M.

6. THE PATRAS
CARNIVAL
The Patras Carnival is the
largest event of its kind in
Greece and one of the biggest
in Europe. It has more than 180
years of history. The events
begin on the 17th of January
and last up to Clean Monday.
The Carnival of Patras is not a
single event but a variety of
events that include balls,
parades, hidden treasure hunts
and the children’s carnival
among others. To sum up,
Patras is a great place to go for
the Carnival.
By Demy and Dimitra.
By Demy and Dimitra
THE CARNIVAL OF
PATRA.
Every year people celebrate
the carnival in the city of
Patra. Preparations last for a
year and start when the
previous carnival parade ends.
Many residents of this city
participate in the preparations
without being paid, as
volunteers, because they like it
a lot.
People make costumes for the
big parade which takes place
the last day of the carnival
before Clean Monday. I have
never been to this carnival, but
I would love to go there
sometime in the future.
By Martha

7. THE WRIGHT
BROTHERS
The Wright Brothers invented
the first successful airplane on
December 17th 1902, four miles
south of Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, USA. If you like
planes, you should know this
about the Wright Brothers. The
brothers’ fundamental
breakthrough was their
invention of three-axis control
system which enabled pilots to
steer the aircraft effectively
and to maintain its
equilibrium. This flying
experiment changed our world
for ever.
By George K.