Carnival in Germany

Most of you have heard of carnival in Rio, or even the carnival in Venice, and of course Mardi Gras. What do these have in common? They all mean party time and fun.... before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and fasting begins until Easter! During Lent, you are not supposed to have fun anymore, so during carnival people "let it all hang out", in every form of the term.

Different areas of Germany "celebrate" carnival in different ways, but it's generally a time of masquerade balls and other events, finishing off with parades, parties, and LOTS of drinking up until the Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday. In some cities, like Cologne, the people get really crazy. Germans have a reputation of being very stiff and having very little humor. Carnival season is the one time they can "be not themselves"!

But also, being German, the celebrations are quite "regulated". In Cologne they have what they call the "Dreigestirn" to reign over the festivities. They are 3 quite well-to-do men who have to pay quite a bit of money for the priviledge. One is the designated as prince, the other the farmer, and the third is the "virgin" (a man dressed as a woman). Here is a picture of this years Dreigestirn to give you an idea...

"Virgin", Prince, Farmer (Bauer)

In the town I once lived in, a "normal" Prince and Princess are pronounced. In some towns they were not to be a married couple (making the wives of some married princes get VERY jealous of the pretty princess at his side), yet in my town the couple could be married to each other. In 1982, my ex and I were the town's prince and princess!

Yep, that's me! Ah, those were the days..... it was a fun time. My birthday was on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the same day as the big parade. What a birthday celebration that was! It snowed terribly and can you believe it? We have NO pictures of the float we rode on or anything!

Here we received the key to the city from the town mayor.

Today I watched the parade go past my window. It was drizzly and cold, but the streets were still lined with people, all dressed in fun costumes. Yes, I took pictures, but they're not uploaded yet. But I wanted to share a bit about Carnival in Germany, or "Fasching" as it's called in some parts, is all about. This coming Tuesday I'll probably be going to my former town, the same town my daughter lives in, to once again watch their parade. And, in spite of the many years that have gone by, I'm still greeted there as Princess Dorrie I.!

Dorrie