The “fifth season” is well and truly upon us. But what is it? What is Karneval / Fastnacht / Fasching, and is it something that those who haven’t grown up here can enjoy, too? Well, I’d say a resounding YES to the second question – I came here in my early twenties and fell in love with the fun & frolics of Fasching straight away (which may have something to do with my love of cheesy music, but there’s more to it than just dodgy dancing!)
The “season” actually starts on 11 November, at 11.11am. But the weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday are where most of the action takes place. The “carnival clubs” (Karnevalsverein) hold what are called “Sitzungen”, or “meetings”. These are essentially comedy nights that include dance performances by dance groups (girls/ladies in flamboyant costumes and, often, also groups of men dressed up as women or in hilariously questionable outfits, known as the “Männerballet”), music, and also speeches known as “Büttenreden” which rhyme and usually address political/local matters in a satirical manner. The audience often go dressed up, and there is also plenty of dancing. The music can be quite cheesy (a bit like Après Ski in German-speaking resorts)…just as I like it!
If you’re planning on going to a parade (Umzug – yep, it’s the same word as moving house), or even braving a “Sitzung”, you will want to go in fancy dress to feel part of it. Some people even get dressed up to go to work, and most kindergartens and schools encourage everyone to come “verkleidet” (in costume). Traditional costumes include clowns, “Red Indians”, pirates, cowboys, animals, 60s/70s/80s themes, princesses and much more besides. But there are no limits to people’s imagination! Some choose political themes, others personify a topical or amusing “thing”, or dress up as a favourite TV character. My daughter went as a “rabbit princess” one year and as her favourite character from an Astrid Lindgren book the next. My son went as a firefighter last year, and is planning his knight’s costume for this year. I go as a strawberry every single year…it’s a brilliant costume for layering up underneath if it’s cold outside! In Cologne, you will find a lot of people wearing the traditional “Cologne” outfit. There are shops that specialise in costumes, and if you want to take a look there is one called Deiters close to Konstablerwache in Frankfurt (this is not a recommendation as I have never been there, I just know it exists). Many other shops such as Kaufhof/Karstadt, C&A, H&M etc. also stock fancy dress at this time of year. You can, of course, make your own costume, too – if you are somewhat more creative and talented than I am!
The really intense week of Fasching festivities starts the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. On Thursday 8 February 2024, it’s “Weiberfastnacht” – the day dedicated to the ladies, when men are well-advised to wear the tie they like least, as one of the traditions involves the ladies at work brandishing scissors and symbolically “disempowering” the men in aid of equal rights, by cutting off half of their tie (and giving them a kiss on the cheek in return). I’ll never forget the look on the new girl’s face when she realised she’d just chopped the personnel director’s tie off…luckily, he played along, even though his tie certainly wasn’t from a high street store!
Another way the “Altweiber” exert their power is to symbolically take over the town hall for the day (a tradition also practised by the “Narren” – or hard-core Fasching celebrators who hold positions at the Karneval clubs – on a random day in the “hot phase” of the season). There will be numerous “Weibersitzungen” in the evening just for ladies, in some towns there are also parades, and generally there will be plenty of parties in pubs and clubs. People go dressed up, of course, and as they tend to be fuelled by alcohol, don’t make the mistake I made the first year I was in Germany and forget to book the Friday off work…!
All that weekend, you will see people in high spirits dressed up heading to their “Sitzung”. The festivities peak on the Monday (Rosenmontag) and Tuesday (Faschingsdienstag). There are also parades in most towns, for which most people also don a costume. They all start at a weird time, such as 14:01, as one of the traditions of Karneval is “wonky times”, such as the start of Fasching at 11:11 on 11 November. The parades consist of floats, some with a political theme and some “just for fun” – and nearly all of them throw sweets (Kamellen) to the throngs (including lots of excited children) that line the route. There are also groups of musicians (usually some form of brass band) and dancers (Funkemariechen) – often freezing cold in their skimpy outfits! Children love collecting the sweets, and adults sometimes get lucky if the floats are handing out beer or our local cider Apfelwein 😉 The atmosphere is great and if it’s not pouring with rain, it’s worth getting dressed up and partaking in this fun German tradition. Each town has its own “call” – Kölle Alaaf is what you’ll hear in Cologne, Helau is the “Narrenruf” you’ll hear in Frankfurt and Mainz (and in Oberursel, too, but they use the local dialect version of the town’s name, calling out “Orschel Helau”).
Here are the dates of some of the better-known parades. The “Zugroute” is the map of the route the procession will take. Choose your spot and remember it can take a while for the procession to reach the end of the route! If you are desperate to be at the front, it can be worth getting there a bit early. I have even seen some people take folding chairs, although most people stand so they can catch the sweets and have a boogie to the cheesy tunes that some floats play.
The parade in Frankfurt city centre is on Sunday 11 February 2024 starting at 12:21. This is the route: https://www.grosser-rat.de/fastnachtszug/die-zugstrecke
There is also a smaller childrens parade on Saturday 10 February 2024. Link to further information
Another alternative for Sunday is the big parade in Oberursel, which starts at 14:11. There is a parade in Frankfurt-Heddernheim on Tuesday 13 February 2024, Klaa Paris, starting at 14:31. https://www.zuggemeinschaft.de/zuggemeinschaft/fastnachtsumzug/
My culinary favourite among the Fasching traditions is that at this time of year the bakeries are full of what I as a Brit know as a jam doughnut. Kreppel (or Krapfen or Berliner) are doughnuts filled with jam, or chocolate cream, or eggnog cream, or other yummy things. Sometimes they are even decorated to look like funny faces. Dig in before they disappear when Lent begins!