Wednesday 9 March 2011

Ash Wednesday Reflection: Manaus Carnaval Is Hot and Not Only Because It's Summer in Brazil

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and devout Catholics are marked by crosses of ashes on their foreheads in special services. The cinders frequently are from the palm fronds burned after Palm Sunday of the preceeding year.

But before Lent comes Carnaval, and this year an incident in Manaus, Brazil, gives a new twist on the place of fire in Easter and pre-Easter rituals. The voice-over is in Portuguese but the images convey what's going on: a float in the big samba parade caught fire. A hot time in the old town that night for sure! The dancers on the float deserve medals for bravery.

2 comments:

gardener said...

Wow, a brief interlude and the party continues. That's calm under fire quite literally.

Mary Soderstrom said...

And grace too!