[Ask Europeans] It's February, what are some traditions from your country for this month? Carnivals, big fires?
[Ask Europeans] It's February, what are some traditions from your country for this month? Carnivals, big fires?
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Germany, lots of carnival. In many regions the current carnival traditions date back to the Napoleonic era and were originally invented to mock the French. In some regions, they date back way further and are more about warding off evil spirits and shit.
were originally invented to mock the French Sounds like a typical European tradition
Interesting! Is there an agenda of carnivals available somewhere? Which ones are the biggest ones, or the more unique?
The biggest carnival events take place in the Rhineland, with the Carnival parades in Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz on Shrove Monday being by far the biggest single events. (The carnivals in the Rhineland are of the "mocking the French" variety)
The older flavour of carnival is mostly celebrated in the South with the main events taking place on Fat Thursday
Generally throughout the entire carnival season (regionally known as "The Fifth Season"), there are all sorts of carnival parties (basically dress up in some sort of costume and get drunk) and "carnival sessions" (basically big comedy/entertainment shows) with carnival speeches, often organised by carnival societies.
Thank you for his, I'll probably make dedicated posts on those dates!
The Basel Fasnacht is also one with a lot of history and has UNESCO World Heritage status