EBSCO Read It!
The lyrics of this old samba (the Brazilian carnival song) is the best summary to describe how the locals, as well as foreigners, feel when they are part of the biggest party on Earth: the carnival in Brazil.
Britannica School
Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is the day preceding the Roman Catholic period of Lent. The term Mardi Gras has also come to be associated more generally with a prolonged festival celebrated in the pre-Lenten season. In many Roman Catholic countries the period of festivities marking the last days before Lent is known as carnival.
Britannica School: Lent
In the Christian church Easter is preceded by a season of prayer, abstinence, and fasting called Lent. In Western churches Lent is 40 days (not counting Sundays), beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter Sunday.