| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Swaying fools and singing jesters aplenty on Rose Monday in Germany
When people in Germany start wearing false noses and fancy hats and begin kissing total strangers on the street amid hails of confetti and sweets and shouts of «Alaaf» and «Helau», the German carnival has reached its climax - and that means it must be Rose Monday . The day is marked by the huge masked parades held in the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz. Millions of people line the streets singing, dancing or just rocking too and fro. This is a special day and in the Rhineland region of western Germany those who go to work are even considered to be fools themselves - even though Rose Monday is not an official public holiday. Needless to say, the carnival centres are crowded with visitors. Last year, around 550, 000 spectators cheered on the Rose Monday parade in Mainz - a city of around 200,000 residents, while 1.4 million merrymakers lined the streets of Cologne. Groups of musicians in costume, dance troupes and mounted guards follow each after another at the parades. Huge floats with larger-than-life cardboard figures pass by. Jesters use them to make fun of politicians and their policies and the decorations are inspired by topics such as unemployment, dwindling state coffers, unpopular coalition policies or fundamentalism. When the Rose Monday festivities began in the early 19th century, the military customs of the unpopular Prussians were the target of ridicule. The first Rose Monday parade in Germany was held in 1823 in Cologne and was followed two years later by a parade in Dusseldorf and eventually one in Mainz in 1836. Since then, parades have been held nearly every year and were only interrupted in times of war or emergency. Opinion is divided about the origin of the term Rose Monday. Some say it is derived from the Lower Rhine word «rhosen» meaning dashing or romping. Others attribute it to Rose Sunday (Sunday Laetare). On that day in 1823, the organising committee in Cologne prepared for the masked parade in a general assembly. Sunday Laetare is actually in the middle of Lent, after carnival. Since the Middle Ages, it has been termed Rose Sunday since the pope traditionally presents a golden rose to a worthy citizen on that day . Rose Monday is the highlight of carnival, which depending on the region, is known as «Fastnacht» or «Fasching». Since the Middle Ages, the term «Fasching» has been used to denote the period between the feast of the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday on which Lent begins and lasts until Easter. Meanwhile, the start of the carnival season, which is also hailed as the «fiftth season» of the year, begins in many regions at precisely 11.11 am on the 11th of November. «Fastnacht» is celebrated mainly in Catholic regions of Germany. Huge parades are the exception in the Protestant north although children in northern German primary schools and kindergarten do celebrate Fasching and dress up for the occasion. |
|
  Printer-Friendly
Page Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
