Halloween? Christmas? Or Both?

WitchyPrincess06 said:

what's your favourite holiday?

At the moment, Carnival.

It is 5 days of street parties in the height of summer which have loads of street parties, processions and huge bands made up of everyday people who have been practicing for months.

The country more of less shuts down for the week, there are something like 3.5 days of bank holiday so everyone can be a part of it.

There is also a bit of a mindset shift for a lot of people in relation to their morals. Hooking up with someone for a snog, bit of fooling around of an outright bit of practice baby making is positively expected, often many times a day with different people (note it isn't expected but most people won't take offence to being asked and chances of action are high).

I know of 3 married couples who have an agreement to catch up at the end of carnival but to go have some fun in the meantime. 

There is a big LGBT presence during this time with a lot of very colourful and extrovert goings on.

Costumes are commonplace but not mandatory and the less clothing the better seems to be the rule of thumb. Body positivity is high through the event which can be quite an eye opener.

From an autistic point of view the lack of structure can be an issue - events sometimes fail to happen because streets get closed and you cannot physically get to your destination, or there is an issue which cannot be fixed in time because everyone is on holiday.

The chaos seems to be a big part of it and leaning into it to feel at its mercy can sometimes be the best approach.

Noise is also a biggie - the carnival processions can be like standing beside a machine gun that just keeps on going and also the parties in bars go on to all hours of the night, so earplugs are essential if you suffer with this.

If you can find a way to manage the autistic reactions to these things however it can be an amazing experience. You get swept up in a chaotic party moving through the streets, most people a bit drunk or high and all having a great time. Meeting complete strangers and 2 minutes later having a huge snog with their hand down your pants takes a bit of getting used to but adds to the spice of it all.

In case you are wondering if there is some sort of SA on the go, this is not the case. There is consent asked and given and there are plenty of people around who will help you if you call for help.

It is also not a sleasy, sex obsessed event as most people are there for the music and party, but the naughtiness goes on at the edged, discreet enough not to be intrusive. By the fourth day not many have the stamina to keep going anyway LOL.

There are also competitions with different samba groups contesting for a prize so a lot of effort goes into the bigger competitions with their floats and synchronised, costumed dancers. These are the things you will probably see on TV when it is covering carnival.

WitchyPrincess06 said:

what's your favourite holiday?

At the moment, Carnival.

It is 5 days of street parties in the height of summer which have loads of street parties, processions and huge bands made up of everyday people who have been practicing for months.

The country more of less shuts down for the week, there are something like 3.5 days of bank holiday so everyone can be a part of it.

There is also a bit of a mindset shift for a lot of people in relation to their morals. Hooking up with someone for a snog, bit of fooling around of an outright bit of practice baby making is positively expected, often many times a day with different people (note it isn't expected but most people won't take offence to being asked and chances of action are high).

I know of 3 married couples who have an agreement to catch up at the end of carnival but to go have some fun in the meantime. 

There is a big LGBT presence during this time with a lot of very colourful and extrovert goings on.

Costumes are commonplace but not mandatory and the less clothing the better seems to be the rule of thumb. Body positivity is high through the event which can be quite an eye opener.

From an autistic point of view the lack of structure can be an issue - events sometimes fail to happen because streets get closed and you cannot physically get to your destination, or there is an issue which cannot be fixed in time because everyone is on holiday.

The chaos seems to be a big part of it and leaning into it to feel at its mercy can sometimes be the best approach.

Noise is also a biggie - the carnival processions can be like standing beside a machine gun that just keeps on going and also the parties in bars go on to all hours of the night, so earplugs are essential if you suffer with this.

If you can find a way to manage the autistic reactions to these things however it can be an amazing experience. You get swept up in a chaotic party moving through the streets, most people a bit drunk or high and all having a great time. Meeting complete strangers and 2 minutes later having a huge snog with their hand down your pants takes a bit of getting used to but adds to the spice of it all.

In case you are wondering if there is some sort of SA on the go, this is not the case. There is consent asked and given and there are plenty of people around who will help you if you call for help.

It is also not a sleasy, sex obsessed event as most people are there for the music and party, but the naughtiness goes on at the edged, discreet enough not to be intrusive. By the fourth day not many have the stamina to keep going anyway LOL.

There are also competitions with different samba groups contesting for a prize so a lot of effort goes into the bigger competitions with their floats and synchronised, costumed dancers. These are the things you will probably see on TV when it is covering carnival.

OMG!! What a mental picture. w⁠(⁠°⁠ｏ⁠°⁠)⁠w

I was going to leave a gentle post about Christmas but this post just blows everything out of the water. My mind has gone off in all sorts of different directions.

Yikes!!

Iain said:

Meeting complete strangers and 2 minutes later having a huge snog with their hand down your pants takes a bit of getting used to but adds to the spice of it all