Carnival celebrations (March 8)

Revelers around the world celebrate during the final days before Ash Wednesday and Lent.

Section:Gallery

Tue., March 8, 2011

Dancers of Uniao da Ilha samba school parade on a float during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, March 7, 2011.

Rodrigo Abd Associated Press
A dancer of Uniao da Ilha samba school performs while parading during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, March 7, 2011.

Felipe Dana Associated Press
A samba school dancer rests after a carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Monday March 7, 2011.

Rodrigo Abd Associated Press
Revelers perform during carnival celebrations in Barranquilla, Colombia, Sunday March 6, 2011. In 2003 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, declared Barranquilla's carnival as a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity."

Fernando Vergara Associated Press
A reveler spits gasoline to make fire during carnival celebrations in Barranquilla, Colombia, Saturday, March 5, 2011. In 2003 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, declared Barranquilla's carnival as a 'Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity'.

Fernando Vergara Associated Press
A boy plays a horn during carnival celebrations in Huautla, Mexico, Monday, March 7, 2011.

Eduardo Verdugo Associated Press
Children wait to perform during carnival celebrations in Huautla, Mexico, Monday, March 7, 2011.

Eduardo Verdugo Associated Press
A member of the Krewe of Zulu interacts with revelers on Canal St. on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans, Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

Gerald Herbert Associated Press
Lee Chance laughs as he shows off his collection of beads that he caught during the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parade in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
Herschel Abbott, Jr., who is Rex, King of Carnival 2011, speaks with members of the media after disembarking from a U.S. Coast Guard vessel on the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Monday, March 7, 2011. Rex will reign over an all-day celebration on "Fat" Tuesday, March 8, when Mardi Gras season officially ends.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
A reveler takes a sip of bourbon as he sits next to a sleeping man on a couch during the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parade on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, attends a traditional carnival reception at the chancellery in Berlin on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011.

Markus Schreiber Associated Press
Dancers celebrate at the traditional carnival Rosemonday Parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, March 7, 2011. The foolish street spectacles in the carnival centers of Duesseldorf, Mainz and Cologne, watched by hundreds of thousands of people, are the highlights in Germany's carnival season on Rosemonday.

Frank Augstein Associated Press
A young reveler in a carnival costume waves during carnival celebrations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday March 6, 2011.

Ramon Espinosa Associated Press
A reveler with two snakes performs during carnival celebrations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday March 6, 2011.

Ramon Espinosa Associated Press
A reveler with the Mystics of Time tosses beads to the crowds gathered on Royal Street in Mobile, Ala., Monday, March. 7, 2011. The pre-Lenten blowout continues along the Gulf Coast culminating in Fat Tuesday celebrations March 8.

John Mercer Mobile Press-Register
A girl dances through in the street during a traditional parade to mark the end of the carnival period in southern port city of Limassol, 52 miles south of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, March 6, 2011. Thousands of people gather every year to celebrate the Carnival in the streets.

Petros Karadjias Associated Press
Carnivalists celebrate after the opening of the carnival season in Lucerne, Switzerland, early Thursday, March 3, 2011.

Sigi Tischler Keystone