Carnival

It is the infamous season of Carnival in Germany! Actually, it is biggest in the Cologne region, which is where I am. It began on the 11th day of November (11/11) and goes until the Tuesday before Lent begins; that is, the day before Ash Wednesday. The culmination is this weekend, and what a festival atmosphere it is! The closest thing in the US would be Mardi Gras, but that's still very different from this Carnival.

All the restaurants, buildings and public spaces are decorated for Carnival, many host parties every night, and most of the people out and about are in costume. I'm not talking about just dressing in costume on one evening for a particular event--no, these people dress up every night and wander the streets, have coffee, go to a restaurant, go to a bar, etc. It's quite humorous to see adults wearing animal ears and a tail, or clowns and fairies walking down the street.

I spent the weekend in Aachen, Germany, and went to the Carnival parade on Sunday morning. This was the children's parade--the big official parade is tomorrow, but I won't see, due to work. Thanks to my friend's mother, I dressed as a surgeon (full scrubs that tie in the back and all), and joined the crowds (all in costume, of course) for the merriment. Lots of Germans singing their traditional songs and saying "Alaaf!" which is the traditional Carnival shout. The parade lasted 2 1/2 hours and not only was candy thrown, but also waffles, bags of popcorn, and large bags of cookies and chocolates--would be rather painful to have one hit you in the head! I was quite impressed by this parade, and it was only the children's...I can't imagine what a hooplah the adults' would be.

I feel I've done a very poor job describing this, but take my word for it: I experienced a very unique and lively German tradition!