Still, I don’t think we realize how necessary the visceral release of a celebration like Carnival is to our well-being. Without it, it’s easy to convince ourselves that the responsible, rational, workaday persona we wear most of the time is the sum total of who we are. The regular drumbeat of celebration in primitive life served not only to connect people to one another but also to give them access to a more effusive and instinctual side of themselves.
