(, ) is the highlight of the German (

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

), and takes place on the

Shrove Monday Shrove Monday (also known as Collopy Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday) is part of the Shrovetide or Carnival observances and celebrations of the week before Lent, following Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday and preceding Shrove Tuesd ...

before

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

, the beginning of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. Mardi Gras, though celebrated on Fat Tuesday, is a similar event. is celebrated in German-speaking countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium (

Eupen Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...

Kelmis Kelmis (; , ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Liège (province), Liège, named for the historical deposits of Calamine (mineral), calamine (zinc ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the ...

), but most heavily in the carnival strongholds which include the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

, especially in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. In contrast to Germany, in Austria, the highlight of the carnival is not , but

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

. The name for the carnival comes from the German dialect word meaning "frolic" and meaning Monday.

Overview

The begins at 11 minutes past the eleventh hour on 11 November and the "street carnival" starts on the Thursday before , which is known as ("women's carnival",

Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...

). is prevalent in Roman Catholic areas and is a continuation of the old Roman traditions of slaves and servants being master for a day. derives from the Latin ("taking leave of meat") marking the beginning of Lent. Carnival is not a national holiday in Germany, but schools are closed on and the following Tuesday in the strongholds and many other areas. Many schools as well as companies tend to give teachers, pupils and employees the Thursday before off as well and have celebrations in school or in the working place on , although every now and then there are efforts to cut these free holidays in some companies. Celebrations usually include dressing up in fancy

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s, dancing,

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s, heavy drinking and general public displays with floats. Every town in the areas boasts at least one parade with floats making fun of the themes of the day. Usually sweets () are thrown into the crowds lining the streets among cries of or , whereby the cry is only applied in the Cologne Carnival and Oche Alaaf is only applied in Aachen Carnival– stems from or , Ripuarian for "all thersaway". Sweets and

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

s are thrown into the crowd. The celebrations become quieter the next day, known as ("Violet Tuesday",

), and end with

References

External links

* {{Authority control Monday February observances March observances Carnivals in Germany The last week before Great Lent

Overview

See also

References

External links