♠Carnival♣

Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent, in February. 
Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party.
People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations.

In England, the season immediately before Lent was called Shrovetide. It was a time for confessing sins with fewer festivities than the Continental Carnivals. Today, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Pancake Day.
The largest Carnival in England is Notting Hill Carnival which doesn't derive from Lent and is celebrated in August. It is derived from Caribbean tradition and is a cultural transplant.

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.