German Carnival |
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In Germany, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Eschweiler, Aachen, Mainz, Bonn and Munich are famous for their Karneval celebrations -- parades and costumed balls which, particularly in southern Germany, are called Fasching. German Carnival parades are held on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday), the day before Shrove Tuesday, but the carnival season officially begins on November 11th (11/11) at 11 a.m. and finishes on Ash Wednesday.
The Rhineland is the most famous Carnival region; the festival developed especially strongly there as it was a way to express subversive anti-Prussian and anti-French thoughts in times of occupation, through parody. Modern carnival there began in 1823 with the founding of a Carnival Club in Cologne.
The "Swabian-Alemannic" carnival only begins on January 6 (Epiphany/Three Kings Day). This celebration is known as Fastnacht (literally "Fasting Eve" as it originally only referred to the eve of the fasting season). Variants are Fasnet, Fasnacht or Fasent. Fastnacht is held in Baden-Württemberg, parts of Bavaria, and Alsace. Switzerland and Vorarlberg, in Austria, also hold this celebration. The festival starts on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, known in these regions as Schmutziger Donnerstag or Fettdonnerstag. In High German, schmutzig means "dirty", but actually the name is from the local dialect where schmutzig means "fat"; "Greasy Thursday". Elsewhere the day is called "Women's Carnival" (Weiberfastnacht), being the day when tradition says that women take control.
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