The story of the Months: February

In Italy, we celebrate two types of Carnival: that of Ambrosian rite and that of the Roman rite. Carnival derives from the Latin carnem levare, "to remove meat," which meant abstinence and fasting at the time. Mardi Gras is March 1, while in Milan, Fat Thursday is March 3, and festivities last until March 5. Carnival celebrates chaos, the disruption of established order: the servant becomes master, the high becomes low, evil becomes good, the inside becomes the outside. This overturning of the order is fundamental so that it can be re-established, renewed and last until the following year.