Le Lavandou Flower parade 13 April 2025La londe Carnival 15 & 16 March 2025Bormes Flower parade 15 & 16 February 2025Cavalaire Corso du Mimosa 21 to 23 February 2025Sainte-Maxime Corso du mimosa 02 February 2025Nice Carnival February 15th to March 2nd 2025 "Le Roi des océans"91st citron Festival in Menton February 15th to March 3rd "Voyage dans les étoiles"La Napoule Fête du mimosa 12 to 16 February 2025

Nice Carnival “Le Roi des Oceans” - February 15th to March 2nd

91st Lemon Festival in Menton - February 15th to March 3rd

Carnival : history and tradition

The flower carnival originates from Egypte and Greece. These countries coming from paganism used to celebrate respectively the Apis bull and the Bacchus bull, they were being immolated while people danced and were screaming of joy. Before that, a human victim replaced the bull. From 1420 the carnival consisted of a bull adorned of feather and dazzling objects and clothes, and a child, king of the butchers that was perched on its back. This practice was abolishes in 1790 and restored in 1805. After that, the king of the butchers was replaced by a float full of young girls wearing mythologycal ceremonials of Love (hence the Queen's float). Then the Corso got its inspiration from Italy with floats decorated by leaves and branches, pulled on the main street by participants allowed to make fun of the local key figures. From 1950 the corsos in the South became a tourist show with majorettes, bands, flower battles, paying stand, tractors, amusement rides... losing all their villager and religious roots....