Carnival in Brazil is an annual festival held on the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. The festival is celebrated for five days preceding Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent in the Catholic calendar. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival", from carnelevare, "to remove (literally, "raise") meat".

Carnival is the most popular holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country unifies completely for almost a week, and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities. Rio de Janeiros carnival alone drew 4.9 million people in 2011, with 400,000 being foreigners. Brazilian carnival in essence is a synthesis of European, Native American, and Afro-Brazilian cultural influences, each group has played an important role in the development of the structure and aesthetic of the Brazilian carnival of today.

The heart of the Carnival is the samba, which is the perfect illustration of the Afro-European blend that defines Brazil culture. The samba parade soon became the most popular event in Rio, with the organizers being forced to set a time limit for each team in 1971. The streets of Rio remained the main stage for the Carnival until 1984, when the Sambadrome, built by world-famous architect Oscar Niemeyer, began to steal the thunder.

Carnival is not only a big part of the countrys culture, but it is also an important event for the Brazilian economy. The festival attracts millions of visitors each year, and there are lots of different types of celebrations, as well as pre-and post-Carnival parties. People typically dress up in costumes, and there are street parties, raves, and live concerts all over the country.