A Brief History of the Carnival of Venice

The First Record of the Carnevale di Venezia was in 1268. In Venice, the people enjoyed their days of masked revelry; with the opening of the Carnival Season being marked by St. Stephen’s Day (December 26th), and extended through the eve of Ash Wednesday.
So many days of the year were the people allowed to go about masked, that the Maskmaking guild held a position of power and respect within Venetian Culture.

But the origins of what became known as a Golden Carnival, are quite a bit darker.
Much earlier, the decline of the Venetian Morality had prompted the legislation of some highly unusual pieces; including items such as the limiting of the citizens right to wear masks for any but the approved Carnival and Holy Days. Other legislation outlawed men sneaking into convents dressed as woman, to commit indecent acts. (No.. really truly indecent)...In other words, the morale fiber had decreased to such a degree that it was no longer simply a Libertine attitude which pervaded the streets.. but rather it was a downright hostile narcisstic perception of their world.  So commonplace were the masked individuals who sincerely used this obvious disguise to cover their actions, that the courts endeavored to actively prohibit the practice of these acts; by the simple unmasking of their faces.
This fact is interesting to keep in the back of ones head when you start to feel that the Venetians had “so many carnival days”.. Look forward from the point in history when those days were first limited, and you’ll see that the Venetian People probably felt positively naked without their masks on all the days EXCEPT for the Golden Carnival.

And so, it was only on the ironically concurrent “High Holy Days”.. that it was left to the revelers, to truly, happily Be themselves. So great was their private relief to be able to sing gaily, exchange witty banter between the boats gliding over the canals, dance in the salons with hearts made merry with wine, and flirt both evilly and innocently with those around them and themselves... It was so great a relief that they were willing to overlook the occasional unruly individual whose ideas of freedom ran a bit more rampant.
To make this expression of their freedom even more poignant, recall to mind that many other prohibitions were enacted at this time. Including the forbearance of all dancing outside of the carnival periods, and the restrictions on the uses of drums all the time.
Anyone who has attended any SCA event will feel deeply the blight that this would place on life.  But those halcyon days of Carnival were allotted for the finer pleasures of life- like dancing.

In modern times, the Carnival has still had its enemies: During its occupation by the Austrians, Venice suffered a stark decline in its celebrations. And later, it was completely outlawed in the 1930’s under the tumultuous conditions surrounding the inception of World War I.
Again, the Masked Days found themselves declared to be at the height of permissive behavior- And in this, they needed to be squashed by the post World War I moralists. After all, Norman Rockwell and the Venetian traditions are far from compatible. But as liberality has risen, and we have all started to enjoy life, and its occasional pleasures- The Carnival has gained its revelers again. The Revelers who pay homage to the freedom of being oneself with the reversal of the long-ago legislation. They simply put the masks back on