When you hear the word 'carnival' in the English-speaking world, it's probably
more likely to be associated with Rio rather than with Germany. Yet in some German
regions there are many customs and festivals associated with 'carnival'-and there
are quite a few days off work. For many people, carnival is the one occasion in
the year when they truly allow themselves to go crazy. This is especially true
for the Rhineland, where the 'official'
Karnevalszeit (carnival season)
starts on the 11th of the 11th at 11.11am. This is when the
Karnevalsvereine
(carnival clubs) start their preparations, for example building the
Karnevalswagen
(carnival floats) for the Karnevalszug (carnival parade)– meeting the old stereotype
that things are done thoroughly in Germany, even when having fun – though I have
to concede that it can take a lot to create such a float. (If you would like to
see for yourself, have a look at the documentation on how an old VW Golf was turned
into a 'running' camel for a parade in 2003: click on
Wagenbau-Newsletter
2002/2003. It doesn't matter if you don't speak any German - just scroll down
and let the photos speak for themselves.)
Everything comes to a climax several days before Ash Wednesday, the first day
of Lent. Almost everyone goes crazy, at least in the Rhineland, especially in
Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz. The first of these wild days is the Thursday
before Ash Wednesday, called 'Weiberfastnacht'. In many towns women take over
the town halls and, according to an old tradition, cut off the ties of male
politicians, colleagues-whoever comes along, is male, and wears a tie. This 'taking
over' is the first step in celebrations that are centred around individuals
assuming different roles, putting on masks and mocking authority: nowadays leading
politicians are generally the target. In the following few days there are a
lot of dressing-up parties, and everyone competes to be crazier and more foolish
than everyone else, with a little help from the local (and not so local) breweries,
champagne and wine cellars. Numerous carnival parades take place, mostly on Rose
Monday, and many small towns pride themselves on their own parades, even if
this happens only every two years, as for example in Rheinberg,
a small town you might have read about in one of my earlier articles. The parades
are made up of lots of different floats, many of which have a theme, often picking
up on the mood of the time. Cologne's theme this year was 'Laach doch ens, et
weed widder wäde'– in the dialect of the area. Translated into 'proper'
German it is 'Lach doch mal, es wird schon wieder werden': Just laugh-somehow
it'll all get better.
Last but not least, one must mention that there's always an alternative. Twenty
years ago some folk in Cologne turned the 'Prunksitzung' (a pompous pre-carnival
gathering of big carnival clubs) into a 'Stunksitzung'-'Stunk' being colloquial
for 'trouble'. This 'Stunksitzung' parodies those traditional carnivals that
have become a bit stiff and establishment. It could be called the 'underground'
version of the Cologne carnival and all its sessions are sold out long in advance…
Traditional or iconoclastic, carnival is a time to let your hair down, to find
time to mock authority and to enjoy yourself. Go with the flow-or against it!
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