Fasching!

Karl and I have recently finished experiencing Fasching...or Fasnacht as it's also called in Germany...or Carnival as it's called in some countries...or Mardi Gras as it's called in New Orleans. You can click here to read all about the holiday and how it's celebrated in many different countries...but basically, it's a Catholic holiday. It begins here in Germany on November 11th at 11:11 am and lasts until Ash Wednesday. Most of the festivities, however, happen in the month before Ash Wednesday. It's a way for people to let loose, ignore the rules, become a fool, and criticize bureaucracy in a fun and harmless way.

Karl and I had heard about Fasching when we were in Berlin but didn't see any evidence of it. Now that we're in the Black Forest of Germany we've learned that the season is only heavily celebrated in far western Germany in the Rhine river and Black Forest regions.

One Saturday, January 20th, Karl and I went to visit Esslingen, the city where he spent his study abroad in 2005. Just a few days before, my German instructor had talked to me about how Fasching was traditionally celebrated in Germany. So as we were sitting in a little pub eating lunch and some men entered to have some drinks at the bar, I immediately recognized their strange costumes as Fasching costumes. There are German Fasching societies or clubs that work throughout the year on making expensive costumes and very expensive hand-carved wooden masks just for this time of year. During Fasching they participate in a lot of parades and celebrations and drink a lot. After lunch, we quickly found the large central square where a Fasching celebration was getting ready to begin.



The celebration was for the traditional (and symbolic) kicking out the mayor and letting the fools take over the city. There was a band and several Fasching groups, each with their own unique costumes, and the king and queen of the fools arrived. The mayor made a comic appearance dressed up as a female nurse to "save" another man dressed as an old woman and after their comical play, the king and queen of the fools arrived on the balcony of city hall and announced their new "laws." All of this contains a lot of inside jokes based on political and other events from the past year. And throughout, every time one of the "fools" -- or "narr" as they are called in German -- yells the word "Narri!" (pronounced nah-ree) the crowd yells back "Narro!" (pronouned nah-roo). It was all very fun!

Take a look at the Esslingen photos here.



On Monday, February 19th, I was invited to attend the Bühlertal Fastnacht parade by some friends of ours. It's apparently a well-known parade and very traditional. And it was very fun! Besides all the cries of "Narri!" and "Narro!", their were bands, and Fasching societies with all kinds of costumes. I loved seeing the variety of costumes. And most of the crowd was costumed in some way (I was even convinced to wear fuzzy pink antennas by my friends), especially the children. When Fasching, or Fastnacht, was explained to me in Berlin by fellow Americans, I was told it was like the German version of Halloween. Actually, it's not a very good comparison at all...but at this parade, I saw why it might be explained that way. All the costumed children also bring empty bags with them. And throughout the parade, all the costumed fools give candy to the kids. And these kids made out pretty well!



Besides giving candy to the kids, some groups were giving "candy" to the adults, too...little cups of wine (we do live in wine-country, remember). And when they weren't giving out wine and candy they were playing tricks on the crowd...stealing hats, stuffing confetti down people's shirts, and kidnapping young pretty girls and tying their legs together or dragging them along in a wagon or stealing their shoelaces. And there was a lot...A LOT... of confetti! I am still, a month later, finding it places. (As you look at my photos from the parade, you'll notice the ground becoming whiter and whiter...that's the confetti!). I personally got confetti stuffed down the back of my shirt and one of my friends got his hat stolen three times, having to chase after the fool who took it each time. It really was fun!

See all my Bühlertal photos here.



But the neatest event I attend was actually in Switzerland. My German instructor had told me that there was a famous parade called the Morgestraich in Basel, Switzerland, which is just over the German border, about an hour and 20 minutes away from our home. The parade took place on Monday, February 26th, and I decided to go. But it wasn't an easy decision...'cause here's the thing: the parade starts at 4:00 am. Yes, A.M! Why 4 am? Because the Basel Fasnacht celebration begins at 4 am Monday morning and ends at 4 am Thursday morning and because darkness is an important part of this parade. I had learned that it was a parade of handmade lanterns and pipe music. So on Sunday afternoon I went to bed at 5 pm and woke up at 11 pm. I showered, had breakfast, and left home at 1 am. I crossed the Swiss border a little after 2 am. I found a parking spot, took a tram to the city center and found a place in the market square to stand and wait for the parade by 3 am. And by 3 am there was already a large crowd. The street lights were on, there was a drizzle of rain, which thankfully stopped a little while before the parade started, and we all stood around in the early morning wet cold and I wondered why I had decided to do this. And then the parade started...and I was sooo glad I decided to do this!

At 4 am the town hall clock in the square where I was struck 4 am. And at exactly the ring of the 4th bell, all the city lights went out! And then, a moment later, the pipe and drum music started up! It was a stunning beginning to the most unique parade I had ever seen! To get a sense of what this all sounded like, click here, then click on "Calendar" on the menu at the left, and as the site takes you to that page, you'll hear the town hall bells strike 4, the lights going out (all the oohhhs and aahhhs from the crowd) and then the pipe and drums starting up!



The parade was made up of different Fastnacht groups, or cliques as the Swiss call them, marching down the streets with their lanterns, drums and pipes. The lanterns were huge and pulled on carts by two to four people. These large lanterns were hand painted with different satirical messages, mostly based on different local political and other events. They were amazing! Following the large lanterns are costumed people along with a group of costumed piccolo players (a small, high-pitched flute) and they are followed by a group of costumed drum players. They are all wearing small lanterns on the tops of their heads. And some are even carrying lanterns on the ends of tall sticks. And that's it. No bands, no candy, no confetti, no waving or any kind of interaction with the crowd. Just pipes, drums and lanterns and all in the dark. Not only are all the street lights out, but all the homes and business in the area are asked to turn out their lights, too, so that the only light is coming from the colorful lanterns. So as these cliques slowly march past, you can just see their strange masks coming out of the darkness and all you can hear is the pipe and drum music which sounds almost creepy in the darkness.

After about 45 minutes, the parade seemed to be ending. Suddenly, there were no more cliques marching by. But soon, I realized, that the parade wasn't ending, it was changing. The parade was breaking up: all the cliques were separating from the main street and were turning off onto different side streets. There seemed to be no more parade route...it was a free for all! And the crowd started breaking up, too. All the people started rushing off onto different streets to watch the cliques, moving from street to street, and even falling in behind the cliques themselves, becoming part of the parade. So I got in on all the fun! Dashing around the streets, watching the different lanterns go by or following cliques for a while than following another, some moving down crowded streets, others turning off into narrow alleys with hardly any people. I've never seen a parade like it! Every once in a while a clique would stop to take a break and pull their large lantern over to the side of the streets, take off thier masks, and warm up with some coffee or small amounts of liquor. Then the crowds could get a closer look at the amazing lanterns. As I mentioned, they were all satirical and most had some writing on them, but they were all written in the local Basel dialect, so I couldn't always understand what they said, but often the pictures said enough! I was amazed how smoothly this seemingly chaotic parade went. Often cliques would cross each other's paths and every time, one clique would patiently wait until it was their turn to go, as if there were invisable traffic lights. Or people would repeatedly and respectively get out of the way of oncoming cliques. Everyone was very respectful of this parade and it's chaotic nature!



It went on like this until sunrise. As it became lighter, a lot of the magic of the parade disappeared. The darkness was definitely important. More and more of the cliques stopped for good and more and more of the crowds dispersed into the cafes and shops starting to open. I took a few more photos so that all of you could get a better sense of what the costumes looked like, but soon I felt the need to go, too. At about 7:45 am I made my way back to the car. Very tired, but very exhilarated. I contemplated how amazing it was that this society had created a way that, for hundreds of years, they had been able to harmlessly shrug off the burden of rules and criticize what they felt was wrong in their society without repercussions, before going back to daily life, feeling better after having a little fun and getting some things off their collective chest. I can't wait for next year!

Please take a look at the Basel photos here.

And I took some short (very short) videos with my digital camera that you can view here, here and here.