Every year on November 11 at 11:11:11 a.m., Carnival (also known as the fifth season, Karneval, Fastnacht or Fasching) officially begins. In Germany, the carnivals in the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf are the most popular and popular.
Carnival is a long-standing tradition in the Rheinland, starting at 11:11:11 on November 11 the previous year and ending on Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch) in February the following year.
The last Thursday of this period is the Women's Carnival (Weiberfastnacht), when the street carnival (also known as Strassen Karneval) begins. On this day, women can dress up as ** and take to the streets, raid men with ties, and cut their ties into pieces. Some intimate men will prepare a few ties that they have planned to put in their pockets for this carnival, so that women can cut their ties happily.
It's about binge
There is also a special custom in Bonn that has been handed down for more than 180 years. It was on the day of the Women's Carnival, when all the early laundry workers went on strike and started drinking coffee and gossiping about their husband's marital fidelity and alcoholism. No men will be allowed to attend this meeting. This custom has evolved to the point where women elect a washerwoman (w scherprinzessin) to raid the town hall during the women's carnival, and of course the mayor is sure to be heavily protected on this day.
The carnival culminates on the last Monday, which is also known as rosenmontag. In addition to the grand parade of floats and costumes, many shops and companies in Cologne and Düsseldorf make this day a day off, when people take to the streets to drink, sing or dance after work.
Every jecke (the term for revelers) who attends in Düsseldorf shouts "Helau!" (In Cologne, it's alaaf!) These cheers are an important way to greet the carnival, and everyone can do something that they usually think is not normal but funny during this time.
Where does the tradition of revelry come from?
The tradition of the carnival can be traced back to similar celebrations in ancient Rome. At that time, there was a temporary exchange of identities between the upper and lower classes, such as a slave who could become a master for a day. There are also studies that the current carnival is actually derived from the Spring Festival activities of the Germanic people (Germanen) and the Celtic (kelt). They wear masks, animal skins, and disguise themselves as demons to dispel evil spirits while celebrating the arrival of spring and awakening the spirits of spring.
In the Middle Ages, this tradition was accommodated by the ** religion. The 40-day fastenzeit (between the end of Carnival and Easter) precedes the party, so a lot of food and fat is needed during the carnival, which is now replaced by a handful of candy or tulips sprinkled on the floats.
Karneval comes from Carnevale, which originally meant meat, goodbye! 」（fleisch, leb wohl）。It wasn't until the 19th century, when Napoleon occupied the Rhineland, that the carnival evolved into a political and social critical symbol. Because the people of the occupied land, in order to express their dissatisfaction with Napoleon** and not want to cause trouble, they dressed themselves up in strange ways to vent their depression in a fun way, and at the same time avoided making this activity a strictly forbidden political activity.
To this day, carnival floats can also be used from time to time to satirize current affairs or express opinions. And why did the carnival start on November 11 at 11:11:11? This is also due to the fact that those who break the Ten Commandments of the Church are called fools, so 11 becomes a number for fools.
In the ** religion, 11 is between 10 and 12, one more than ten fingers, but one less than the twelve, and is an unattributed number that symbolizes sin. Therefore, 11 is actually in line with the meaning of carnival, which is to fool and ridicule carnival and indulgence.
Why is Carnival important?
Probably only Catholics who really consider Carnival important, because Catholicism has a 40-day fast, in which people indulge in good food in order to endure the penance that follows. From the 12th century onwards, there was a similar activity in the church.
However, for Lutheran believers, since Luther himself believed that fasting was up to man's own discretion, there was no longer a need for the demonic game of carnival.
As a result, the important strongholds of the Reformation, such as Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, were not as enthusiastic about carnival as the Rhinelanders. As Sebastian Brant, author of the Ship for Dummies (das narrenschiff), put it: Only demons need games. The world is like a ship for fools. 」
In fact, the boat is also a representative image of the carnival, and many floats will be designed to resemble boats. There is no compass or sail on this ship, which also means that those who revel will eventually perish with the ship. In modern times, according to statistics, almost one in five Germans after Carnival will catch a cold or regret something embarrassing when they are drunk.
However, the reason why Carnival is still held in a big way is that I think many people will benefit from it, whether it's getting a day off or grabbing a good opportunity to celebrate. For the usually strict Germans, such a festival is also a good time to relax once a year, to express the side that is usually not visible to the outside world through a festival or ritual, and at the same time help to promote mental health.