European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 27, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Four women dressed As Downs gather for mischief making during Fasching celebrations in Cologne Germany. Cologne has one of the biggest parades in Europe.3&s r e inc my Carivaly i translated they All mean fun by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer this is the time of year when people in Many parts of Europe get a Little crazy. The mass insanity has Many names a Fasching carnival Carnevale fasnacht Mardi Cras. It manifests itself in parades parties and pageantry that fill ballrooms Halls and Homes and spill Over into the streets in some of the continent s More intriguing cities. Last year the Culf War wiped out most of carnival taking away the europeans Long established cure for the Winter blahs. At a time when the dark Days and gloomy Gray skies threaten to become part of the collective consciousness the carnival season rekindles spirits and reduces Winter again to a meteorological phenomenon. In this sense the modern Day revelry performs the same functions amps file As the ancient Pagan rites from which it originated driving out the demons of Winter. When christianity came to Europe aspects of the Pagan rituals were incorporated into pre lenten events. The period shortly before the Start of Lent became a time for carousing and letting off steam before the asceticism and sobriety of the lenten fast. Even with the coming of the reformation a few protestant regions retained their carnival celebrations. The most celebrated of these is the fasnacht in Basel Switzerland. In True Independent Swiss fashion Basel s residents hold their party a week later than most other cities after Lent has already begun. It kicks off at the unheard of hour of 4 . The monday after Ash wednesday. In addition to Basel other Swiss cities with major carnival celebrations include Lugano Lucerne Locarno and Zurich. Europe s carnival celebrations Are As diverse As the countries and regions in which they take place. In Nice France the highlight of the Mardi gras festivities is the Battle of the Flowers. Our own Rose bowl Parade May have taken a Cue from the Blossom covered floats that wend their Way through the Riviera City. In Venice Italy the canals and crumbling Marble palazzi give the Carnevale an air of Romance and mystery. Traditional costumes stress 16th-Century elegance and Beauty harking Back to the glory Days when the Lagoon City ruled much of the Eastern Mediterranean. The residents of Binche Belgium celebrate with successively bigger carnivals on the six sundays preceding Mardi gras. On the big Day itself the City s streets fill with costumed kids. Reupen and Malmo by also get into the carnival spirit in a big Way. The Netherlands biggest Celebration is in maastricht but there Are others mainly scattered throughout the area along the German Border. However the country that makes the most out of carnival is Germany where it is known in most places As Fasching. Fasching fever infects whole regions from the giant Industrial cities of the Rhine and Ruhr to tiny villages in the Black Forest and the bavarian Alps. Officially the German Fasching starts in the 11th minute of the 11 the hour of the 11 the Day of the 11 the month. But the real Celebration begins the last few weeks prior to Lent reaching a Crescendo the weekend before Ash wednesday. Some of Germany s biggest Fasching celebrations take place in Cologne Dusseldorf stripes Magazine february 27, 1992