Rio Carnival in the context of "Float (parade)"

A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety of celebration.

The term "parade" is also used in different contexts; for example, in the Canadian Armed Forces, "parade" is used both to describe the procession and in other informal connotations.

Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stock was fully consumed during Shrovetide as to reduce waste. This festival is known for being a time of great indulgence before Lent (which is a time stressing the opposite), with drinking, overeating, and various other activities of indulgence being performed. For example, pancakes, donuts, and other desserts are prepared and eaten for a final time. During Lent, dairy and animal products are eaten less, if at all, and individuals make a Lenten sacrifice, thus giving up a certain object of desire (e.g. sweets), with the money that would go to purchase what was sacrificed being donated at the church as alms for the poor.

A comparsa is a group of singers, musicians and dancers that take part in carnivals and other festivities in Spain and Latin America. Its precise meaning depends on the specific regional celebration. The most famous comparsas are those that participate in the Carnival of Santiago de Cuba and Carnaval de Barranquilla in Colombia. In Brazil, comparsas are called carnival blocks, as those seen in the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian carnivals. In the US, especially at the New Orleans Mardi Gras, comparsas are called krewes, which include floats.