GERMAN TRADITIONS
Mardi Gras' German Cousin
Many of Germany's visitors remember this event. It happens about six weeks before Easter, or the week or 10 days leading up to the beginning of Lent. It starts with Cologne's two-and-half hour Rose Monday parade.
It includes huge "Karneval" floats bearing dozens of wealthy citizens dressed as Napoleonic-era soldiers. They toss fistfuls of chewy candies to the noisy crowds on the sidewalks, exactly the way New Orleans's Mardi Gras crews toss plastic-beaded necklaces and coins. Like New Orleans, parade-float humor leans toward political satire with a local flavor. And also like New Orleans or Munich (where the pre-Lenten carnival is called Fasching) the best parties are private, organized by the parade societies. Tickets to Karneval and Fasching parties are fairly easy for non-members to obtain.
Düsseldorf, Mainz and Basel, on the Swiss border, all have pre-Lenten festivals as well. Each carry unique traditions. North Americans craving a taste of the events can find some closer to home. On Long Island, there is the 40-year-old Cologne-style costume ball. It's sponsored by an official New World offshoot of one of the most prominent Cologne Karneval societies. Other cities with Karneval parties include Windsor (Ontario), Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, Sun City (Arizona) and Indianapolis. Even a delegation from Indianapolis has participated in the Cologne Karneval as honored guests with Cologne, in turn, sending a group to Indianapolis. And a 1999 Karneval Narrentreffen (fools' meeting) in Las Vegas was videotaped by German TV's Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR).