HOW SWEET IS CARNEVALE

The date when Lent begins depends on the date of Easter, which is determined by the spring equinox, which is (in astronomy the event that the Sun can be observed to be directly above the equator) so that these festivities can be observed up until around March 11th.

As Americans, we are familiar with carnival but we know it as Mardi Gras celebrated in New Orleans and to a lesser degree in Galveston, San Francisco, even Universal Studios in Orlando.

In the America's, there is also the Carnival in Rio, a much-heralded gala, featuring samba clubs in gorgeous costumes.

In fact, Carnival is celebrated throughout the world. In Europe, Canada, Greece, Russia, the Philippines and Sydney, Australia.

It's a time of laughter, and recreational events, which are historical, and all based on the weeks of the (last fling) on "Shrove Tuesday" that ends on the eve of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

This year Carnevale 2007 begins on Saturday, February 10th and ends on Tuesday, February 20th. It comes 40 days before Easter, in the depths of winter. This is good; the need for merriment is all the stronger, and what better excuse could there be to dress up and party?

The celebration of Carnevale is one you will find all over Italy. The dates of these festivities will vary depending upon the town or region.

Venice - In the past, (the guilds of the Smiths and Butchers') would slaughter and cook a bull for the multitudes, while an acrobat would slide down a wire from the Campanile to the Dodge's Palace to present him with a bouquet of flowers, after which there would be a ball. This was past; Venice stopped celebrating Carnevale after the fall of the Republic in 1797, and the festival was revived in 1979, in part to draw tourists during the winter. Though some consider this the motive for organizing a festival, the city has done an extremely good job of it, and the atmosphere has a timelessness to it that is unique and should be experienced at least once.

The city already has a special air to it in the winter, with the mists rising up from the canals to shroud the buildings; thousands of people who arrive from the four corners of the globe, dressed in spectacular costumes, make it feel like a dream world. It's a unique, mesmerizing, stirring, and ultimately dazzling experience. Events are held nightly in various locations throughout Venice and include masquerade and costume balls, concerts, dinners, and festivals. Note: More formal Carnevale events require reservations ahead of time and some of the more extravagant balls are quite costly.

Verona - Not far from Venice, Verona has one of the oldest Carnevale celebrations in Italy, dating from 1615. On the day of Carnevale (Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday), Verona has a huge parade with more than 500 floats. 15,000 kilos (about 33,000 pounds) of sweets are thrown out into the crowd.

Ivrea in Piedmont - The town has a unique carnival celebration with medieval roots. The carnival includes a colorful parade followed by orange-throwing battles in the center of town. Carts are presented with a parade through town. The battle takes place. The culminating event is the burning of the scarli (big poles erected in the middle of each district's square, covered with dry bushes.

Acireale in Sicily is the "queen" of the Sicilian carnival. Artisans feverishly work every year to prepare as many wagons as possible, with colors and imagination celebrating among thousands of people that fill the roads and the piazzas of the city originating from the whole island.

Of course, in Italy no celebration is complete without food. In addition, as we of Italian heritage know, food is a celebration in itself. The simplest of foods can be turned into a work of art, and the Regional Carnevale Cakes will prove the point
Italy has chosen sweet fritters, which are fried ribbons of dough, the most popular ones shall we say, even indispensable on every table and restaurant. They are the fritole (a kind of fritter) and galani, somewhat like a thinly flattened doughnut.

Regional names for the dough are:
Fritole or Frittelle alla Veneziana - from Venice
Chiacchiere - from Lombardy
Bugie - from Piedmont
Galani - from Veneto
Chiacchiere di Suora - from Parma
Cenci - from Tuscany
Crostoli - from Trieste and Friuli
Frapp - from Umbria
Zeppole - from Sardinia
Lattughe - from Emilia-Romagna

Regional translations are equally interesting Chiacchiere - "gossips"
Fritole or Frittelle all Veneziana - "fritters"
Bugie - "lies"
Chiacchiere di Suora - "nun's gossip"
Cenci - "rags and tatters"
Lattughe - "lettuces"
Nastrini - "lovers knots"

The important point no matter the name Ü it is prepared with a few basic ingredients: White flour, whole eggs, olive oil or unsalted butter, sugar, honey, yeast, vanilla, salt, dry white wine (or substitute liqueurs - or strong brandy), oil for frying, confectioners' sugar, powdered cinnamon. Not all but combinations of these ingredients go into different recipes.

What's the right wine? Again, it all depends on the region!