The Quebec Winter Carnival , held yearly in Quebec City, Canada, is the biggest winter carnival in the world. The festival typically starts on the last Friday of January or the first Friday of February and it continues for 17 days, usually with close to one million participants every year.
The first large scale Carnival was held in 1894, more or less in continuation of traditional Mardi Gras festivities which had been popular everywhere in Québec, using humbler means and involving smaller numbers of individuals. The Carnival was interrupted by World War I, the Great Depression of 1929 and World War II. It was held sporadically between 1945 and 1954.The style of the Carnival has changed considerably over the last twenty years and now includes cultural events and participatory sports as well as traditional spectator sports.
