The Carnival of the Animals and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the work as a piece of fun. On 9 February 1886 he wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" (). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the École Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. A second (private) performance was given
Aalborg Carnival Carnival time. Every year when the sun regains its strength and the vernal equinox promises that spring is coming, the pageant Carrus Navalis moves through the streets of Aalborg keeping an ancient tradition alive. The Carrus Navalis (Car-naval) parade in Aalborg is inspired by ancient pagan traditions and serves as a proclamation of spring, fantasy and fertility - and the start of a new carnival season. The pageant is composed of symbols and represents a part of an extensive carnival tradition that praises light’s triumph over darkness. The pageant is led by mask dancers and men with bells who chase