Not every city in Brazil has an intense street Carnaval. In some all you'll find are relatively well-behaved indoor balls. People with less carnavalesco souls use the holidays to travel to places where they can relax far from the drums during the day and, if they feel like it, go dancing at night. But between New Year's Eve and Carnaval nothing really important is decided in Brazil. But amidst all the craziness and hedonism, Carnaval serves the important purpose for Brazilians of maintaining cultural traditions—encoded in the music, dance, and costumes of the celebrations across the country.