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Carnival season 2016 is underway across Europe and the Americas. These pre-Lent festivals, often a blend of local pagan and Catholic traditions, usher out the winter and welcome in spring. The largest and most famous—the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—took place over the past few days.  

Gathered here are images of carnivals around the world, including images from Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Bolivia, and more.

A dancer performs during the second night of the carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 9, 2016.

A reveler, dressed as Diablos de Luzon, during carnival celebrations in the village of Luzon, Spain, on February 6, 2016.

People gather at Rio Canneregio in Venice, Italy, as Nu' Art Group artists perform during the Carnival Grand Opening show on January 23, 2016.

Revelers wait before taking part in the second night of the carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro on February 8, 2016.

Some participants dress up as “Caretos” to take part in a carnival parade in Podence, in northeastern Portugal, on February 7, 2016.

Performers participate in the traditional Carnival on horseback, a tradition dating back to the 18th century, in Bonfim, Brazil, on February 8, 2016.

A performer in a colorful costume during the Carnavalassu parade in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain on February 6, 2016.

Performers parade at the Sambadrome in Rio on February 8, 2016.

A witch of the Waldkirch Kandel witches looks out of a window of the Krakeelia Carnival Association house during the traditional Witches' Sabbath in Waldkirch, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, on February 6, 2016.

Participants dressed up as “Caretos” gather around a giant effigy that will be burned, as they take part in Podence carnival, in Portugal on February 7, 2016.

Dancers perform during the second night of the carnival parade at the Sambadrome on February 08, 2016.

Dancers of the Morenada Central Norte rest before the carnival parade in Oruro, Bolivia, on February 6, 2016.

Performers parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio on February 9, 2016.

A young Cucurrumacho poses for a portrait during the Domingo Gordo ‘Fat Sunday’ of Carnival on February 7, 2016 in Navalosa, in Avila, Spain.

A masked reveler poses during the Venice Carnival, in Piazza San Marco, on January 30, 2016.

Dancers perform at the Sambadrome in Rio on February 8, 2016.

A masked participant in Piazza San Marco during the Venice Carnival on January 30, 2016.

Revelers of the Rosas de Ouro Samba School perform during the first night of the carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 6, 2016.

A resident watches a “Careta” parading through the streets of Triunfo, Brazil, on February 8, 2016.

The North Side Skull & Bone Gang stand together during the wake-up call for Mardi Gras, on February 9, 2016, in New Orleans.

A performer parades during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio on February 9, 2016.

Performers wearing traditional carnival masks pose for a picture during celebrations of Shrovetide in the Rumsiskes village, some 89 kilometers (56 miles) north of Vilnius, Lithuania, on February 6, 2016.

People attend a carnival party in Olinda, Brazil, on February 7, 2016.

Revelers participate during an annual block party in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil, on February 7, 2016.

Performers dance during the Portela performance at the Rio Carnival on February 8, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro.

Carnival performers dressed as Peliqueiros run along a street in Spain's northwestern village of Laza on February 9, 2016.

A group of traditional witches, Kandelhexen, during their traditional “witches sabbath” carnival performance in the Black Forest village of Waldkirch, Germany, on February 6, 2016.