What Carnival and Ash Wednesday Mean in Germany
Carnival in Germany is the festive season that precedes Lent, the roughly forty-day period of fasting and penitence observed by many Christians before Easter. In German-speaking regions the season is known by several names depending on the area, most notably Karneval, Fastnacht, and Fasching. Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch) marks the end of the festivities and the beginning of Lent, and it is traditionally a day of restraint that follows the excesses of the preceding days.
The Carnival season is not a single day but a period. It conventionally opens on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour — a date and time of symbolic significance in the Rhineland tradition — and builds toward the climax in the days before Ash Wednesday. The final and most intense phase is often called the "fifth season" of the year, a joking reference to Carnival as a season in its own right alongside the four calendar seasons.
Origins
The roots of Carnival lie in the Christian calendar. Because Lent required believers to give up rich foods such as meat, eggs, butter, and sugar, households needed to consume their remaining supplies beforehand — hence the feasting that gives the season its character. The word Karneval is generally linked to the Latin phrase carne levare, meaning "to remove meat," while Fastnacht refers to the eve of the fast.
Over the centuries these practical and religious customs merged with older local traditions of masking, parading, and misrule, developing into the elaborate street festivals, costume balls, and satirical performances seen in Germany today. The modern organized Carnival grew substantially in the nineteenth century, when many of the carnival clubs and associations that still run the festivities were founded.
Customs and Traditions
- Costumes and masks: Dressing up is central to Carnival. Costumes range from whimsical and topical to traditional figures, and masks are especially associated with the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht.
- Parades: Large processions with decorated floats, marching bands, and costumed participants take place in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, particularly on the Monday before.
- Rose Monday: Rosenmontag, the Monday before Ash Wednesday, is the high point of the street Carnival in many cities and the day of the biggest parades.
- Shrove Tuesday: Fastnachtsdienstag continues the celebrations, often with smaller parades and the ceremonial "burying" or ending of the Carnival in some places.
- Carnival calls and greetings: Different regions use distinct greetings and shouts during the season, and these vary from city to city.
- Satirical performances: Balls and stage shows feature humorous speeches and songs that poke fun at politics and public life.
Food and Drink
Carnival food reflects the need to use up rich ingredients before Lent. Typical treats include deep-fried pastries, and the names and shapes of these vary by region. In the Rhineland, Mutzen or Mutzenmandeln are common, while in Swabia and Baden the fried pastry known as Fasnachtsküchle is traditional. In Bavaria and Austria, Krapfen — filled doughnuts, often with jam — are strongly associated with the season. Savory dishes also appear, and in some areas herring or other simple foods are eaten on Ash Wednesday as a deliberate contrast to the preceding feasting. Beer and wine are widely consumed during the festivities.
Religious and Civic Observances
Ash Wednesday is observed in Christian churches as the first day of Lent. A central rite is the imposition of ashes on the forehead, traditionally accompanied by the words recalling that the faithful are dust and to dust they shall return. The ashes are commonly made from the burned palm branches of the previous year's Palm Sunday. The day is marked by fasting and abstinence in many Christian traditions, and it is a day of quiet reflection that stands in sharp contrast to the Carnival that has just ended.
Civically, Carnival is organized largely by local carnival associations and committees, which plan parades, balls, and ceremonies. In some cities the festivities have an official character, with the mayor or local dignitaries participating, and Carnival "princes" or "princesses" are chosen to preside over the season.
Regional Variations
Germany's Carnival traditions differ markedly from region to region, and the three main names for the season reflect this.
- Rhineland: The cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz are famous for large, highly organized Karneval celebrations, with major Rose Monday parades, carnival princes, and satirical events. Cologne's festivities are among the best known in the country.
- Swabia and Baden-Württemberg: The Fastnacht tradition here, especially the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, is known for elaborate carved wooden masks and traditional costumed figures. It has a more ancient, folkloric character than the Rhineland Carnival.
- Bavaria: In Munich and other Bavarian cities the season is called Fasching, with costume balls, parades, and a strong emphasis on Krapfen and other seasonal foods.
- Other regions: Carnival is celebrated in many parts of Germany, but its intensity and style vary, and in some areas Ash Wednesday passes with little public festivity beyond church observance.
Ash Wednesday as the Turning Point
Ash Wednesday brings the Carnival season to an abrupt close. The contrast is deliberate: the days of masks, music, and feasting give way to a period of fasting, prayer, and self-discipline. In many places the transition is marked by the ceremonial end of the Carnival, and the mood shifts from celebration to solemnity. For observers of the Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance and the formal start of the Lenten journey toward Easter.