Carnival in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
A variety of customs and traditions associated to carnival celebrations in the German speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, they can vary considerably from one country to another, but also a small regions This reflected in the different names given to the festivities occurring before Lent.
In parts of eastern and southern Germany and Austria, the carnival is called Fasching in Franconia and Baden-Württemberg, as well as other parts of Germany, Carnival is called Fas t Nacht Fassenacht or Fastnet; Switzerland Fasnacht.
While Carnival traditions in Germany are usually celebrated in familiar areas of southern and western predominantly Catholic country, the traditionally Protestant North a festival under the low Saxon names Fastelavend Fastl ˌɒːvm̩t Fastelabend Fastl and ˌɒːbm̩t Fastlaam also spelled fastl̩ɒːm Fastlom This name was imported to Denmark as Fastelavn and is linked to Vastenoavond in regions of the Netherlands speaking low Saxon is traditionally connected farmhands or generally young people who go from house to house in the villages and collecting sausages, eggs and bacon, which was consumed at a party that evening by going from house to house, they were wearing masks and made noise the old tradition has disappeared in many places in other places under the influence of the traditions of the German carnival, it came to resemble carnival with its parades.
The carnival session, also known as the fifth season begins every year on November 11 to November 11 m and ends on Ash Wednesday the following year with the main festivities happening around Rosenmontag Rose Monday.
Although the festivities and parties start from the beginning of January, the actual carnival week starts on Fat Thursday Weiberfastnacht before Ash Wednesday Germany's largest parades of the German carnival held on the weekend before and especially Rosenmontag yesterday Mardi Gras and even Mardi Gras Faschingsdienstag Veilchendienstag or in the suburbs of the largest carnival cities.
In German-speaking countries, there are essentially two distinct variations of Carnivals Carnival Rhineland in western Germany, centered on the cities of Duesseldorf and Cologne and Mainz the Alemannic or Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht Swabian in southwest Germany, Switzerland Alsace and Vorarlberg Western Austria.
The Rhenish Carnival Rheinischer Karneval mainly in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate is famous for celebrations such as parades and costume balls Cologne Carnival is the largest and most famous citation needed Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz are held in the public media to be three bastions of German carnival, but the carnival celebrations are also widespread elsewhere in the Rhineland.
In the Rhenish festivities developed especially strongly, because it was a way to express anti-Prussian subversive thoughts and anti-French occupation time, through parody and mockery modern carnival, he began in 1823 with the founding of a Carnival Club in Cologne most towns and villages of the Rhineland have their own traditions of famous individual national carnival are the carnival in Cologne Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz.
In the Rhineland, the highlight of the carnival around Rosenmontag is considered the fifth season of the year clubs organize sessions that are called Sitzung show events with club members or guests of dance, comedy and songs suits most played piece of music during these sessions is the Narrhallamarsch the committee that organizes events in each town consists of a chairman and 10 junior members and is called the Council of eleven or Elferrat number eleven, Elf in German, is important in the Carnival celebrations because citation needed is an acronym for the values of the French Revolution of equality, freedom, fraternity.
The spirit of carnival is then temporarily suspended during the Advent and Christmas, and again takes seriously the new year The time of rejoicing in the streets is officially declared open the Alter Markt during the Cologne Carnival Thursday before the beginning of Lent the main event is the street carnival that takes place in the period between Thursday before ash Wednesday and ash Wednesday Carnival Thursday is called Altweiber old women's day in Düsseldorf or Wieverfastelovend women day Cologne This celebrates the beginning of the female presence in the carnival, which began in 1824, when washerwomen celebrated a day without work on Thursday before carnival They founded a committee in 1824 to strengthen their presence in carnival celebrations dominated by men still in each city, a woman in black storms city hall get the key to the city councils of its mayor in city-many crazy places take over city hall or municipal government and wild women cut me ns links wherever they get them too, as a tradition, women have the right to kiss any man who passes their way these days, there are street processions organized by local carnival clubs the highlight of the carnival period however is Rose Monday Rosenmontag Although Rose Monday is not a holiday in the Rhineland, in practice most public life stops and almost all workplaces are closed the largest parades are on Rose Monday, the famous parade Rosenmontagsumzug Monday, for instance in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz, and many other cities in these events, hundreds of thousands of people celebrated in the streets, even if the temperatures are low, most of them dressed in costumes of many regions cries Special Carnival in Cologne, Bonn and Aachen Alaaf; Düsseldorf and Mainz Helau Carnival in the Netherlands is derived in part from Rhenish Carnival.
The carnival Swabian -Alemannic is known as Fastnacht where rapid -Nacht means the day before lent Fastenzeit The name variants Fasnacht Fastnet or Fasent.
Fastnacht is held in the regions of Baden-Württemberg Bavaria Alsace Germany and Austria Switzerland Vorarlberg The festival starts on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, known in these parts as Schmutziger Donnerstag Schmotziger Donnerstag Schmutzige-Dunschdig or Fettdonnerstag in standard German, schmutzig means dirty but in fact the name is of German dialects where Schmotz means Schmalz lard or grease 1 He continues in some areas with the Shrove Monday if often called differently, for example Güdismontag literally Panse Monday in Lucerne and the last day before Wednesday Mardi Gras Mardi Gras ashes in Lucerne known Güdisdienstag literally Panse Tuesday often the most intense day as Fasnacht, Germany, this used to be the time of year in late winter when the last of the meat of the previous year was lard Schmalz, also spelled Schmaltz or fertilizers his, which is consumed before the beginning of Lent name Fasnacht in its different variants is refer ence to the time before the next Lenten fasting period, however, Protestant Basel Basler Fasnacht starts Monday after surprisingly Ash Wednesday.
In some regions of Tyrol, Salzburg and Bavaria traditional processions Perchten welcome in spring Schönperchten beautiful Perchts represent the birth of a new life in nature awakening, Perchts ugly Schiachperchten represent the dark spirits of winter The farmers yearn for warmer weather and Perchtenlauf Run Perchts is a magical expression of this desire nights between winter and spring, when evil spirits are supposed to do the trick, are also called Rauhnächte But it is mostly held fifth of December, the day before Saint-Nicolas, and there is no relationship Fasching.
Carnival in Germany and Austria Switzerland, Carnival, Germany, Switzerland.