This weekend, we went back to Köln. This time, it was not to see the museums or cathedrals. We went to take part in Germany’s Drei Tolle Tages (or three crazy days) holiday. It’s called Fasching or Karneval, depending on where you are. If you think you don’t know what that is… well, it’s based on the same thing as Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carneval in Brazil. The five days leading up to Ash Wednesday (and Lent for the Catholic Church), are culminated by Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). Instead of Mardi Gras which is characterized by wanton sexuality (at least from what I’ve seen), this holiday is more free spirited. That said, you’ll still see strangers kissing total strangers on the street, just because it’s Karneval.
To explain a little more about the season, the holiday starts on the previous Thursday with Weiberfastnacht, or Women’s Fasching. Since I have the honor of working with a number of Germans, I got to see first hand what happens (at least sort of). The tradition (as far as I understand it right now), is for women to basically take over. They go around in groups offering to polish shoes, give sweets or other tasty delicacies, in exchange for a small donation. With that money, the group of women take themselves out to lunch. However, if you wear a tie… the other tradition is to cut it off. What happens to these ties, I don’t know, but the wearer is often compensated with a kiss. So, that Sunday, as the craziness was building, Anna and I decided to drive back to Köln, where we heard the largest party was taking place. While New Orleans is about the only city in the US you hear about for Mardi Gras, EVERY city/town/village has a celebration in this part of Germany. Even our little town of 500 people had a fairly extravagant spectacle. So, if you find yourself surrounded by people with masks or painted faces, about to kiss you, don’t worry, it’s KARNEVAL!
Back to our story: when we arrived on Sunday, we found a parade fully underway. That was a pleasant surprise until we realized that the parade route went right by our hotel and we were on the wrong side! Eventually though, we made it across and checked in. Apparently someone liked us as our room was on the fourth floor, right overlooking the parade. It made for a great viewing location!
After the parade ended, we decided to wander around and watch the craziness for ourselves. The merry making continued into the next morning. We, however, didn’t make it out too late, but did find this nice image of the church.
The next morning, we woke up, enjoyed a very nice continental breakfast (a true one). 🙂 Then out to wander through the parade route. Turns out, the route is rather long (about 4-5 miles), but snakes through the streets of old Köln. People were already out in the streets dancing, drinking, and staking out their spot for the parade, hours before the parade started. Apparently, there were over a million and a half people who came to watch the Rosenmontag parade. Some had very comfortable bleachers to sit in, but most were packed in the streets.
The parade reminded us of the American Thanksgiving Day parade, although perhaps a bit less commercial. Plus, the great thing about this holiday is that the spectators wear costumes as intricate as the paraders themselves. Can you tell which are from the parade and which were spectators?
Only the first image were spectators, but EVERYONE was dressed up. In fact, I was one of the only ones that wasn’t. Anna was at least wearing her wig from Budapest. So, when these people saw me sans costume, they took it upon themselves to paint my face. I obliged and they decorated me with a smile and a lighthouse. It was very well done and I felt much more festive after being so decorated.
More images from the parade.
The parade dates back over 180 years to 1834, but celebrating fasching itself is as old as the city. It is a throwback to a combination of German, Greek and Roman celebrations to the Christian Lent season which seeks to recreated the suffering experienced by Jesus through fasting (or some sort of self deprivation). This is where the term carne vale, or farewell to meat came from. In the early middle ages, meat, eggs and dairy products were forbidden. This may have been partly for practical reasons. At this time of the year (at least as far as one of theories goes), the stores of food were either on the verge of spoiling or running low and needed to be consumed quickly.
Of course, the Karneval in Köln is also based in satire. I can’t think of a much more satirical character than the pope in this image.
Everyone got involved…
and I mean, everyone!
As you can see here, the people who passed by on floats liked to toss out chocolates to the crowd. These small pieces of candy nearly caused riots amongst the crowd as people struggled to get their hands on every piece that came their way. In fact, I had one chocolate bar land on my chest, only to have someone grab it off! Fortunately, Anna and I weren’t in the market for more chocolate (we still have some from our trip to Belgium).
The second most popular item to hand out to the parade watchers were flowers. This man just finished handing a flower to a girl right in front of me. His expression says it all…
There are also hundreds of bands that play lively music as they march through the streets.
This image gives you an idea of what the floats look like.
The clown brigade marches on.
More floats, while perhaps not as large as the ones in New York were still very interesting.
Again, this is a holiday for the whole family (unlike Mardi Gras).
The German Version of the Good Year Blimp. This particular one is for an inexpensive German airline.
It seems that everyone was very friendly. We met these girls standing along the street watching the parade as well. The twins are from Bavaria and informed us that while Köln has the best Karneval, Munich has the best Oktoberfest. Perhaps, they will invite us to see their celebration there as well.
Our experience at the Köln Karneval was a great introduction. We love seeing glimpses into this new culture. We can’t wait for more!
Until then…
–Jim
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