European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse A a a a a a a a by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer this is the foolish season in much of Europe. When the Winter begins to seem endlessly Bleak pre lenten carnival time. Transforms the communal mood with parties parades and pageantry. Americans new to Europe May be. Bewildered As normally. Staid europeans Are transformed into wild and crazy celebrants. The roots of carnival can be traced Back to ancient Pagan Rit a intended to drive out the demons of Winter. They included noise making and the wearing of frightful costumes and masks. But with the Coaming of christianity some of the practices were a incorporated into pre lenten celebrations. The origin of the word carnival has been linked to the Spring festival in a ancient Greece when Dionysus the god of wine Rode into Athens on a Carrus Navalis a float built like a ship. But the More Likely explanation is that the name for the Celebration that precedes the lenten fast evolved from Carne Vale latin for Quot Farewell to depending on the country where they take place european carnival festivities May be called Fasching Darneval Fastnacht Carnevale waste Lovend Fasnet fasnacht and Mardi gras. Germany celebrates carnival in a big Way and under several names. The most common one is Fasching. Officially the Fasching season begins nov. 11 at 11 11. But the real Celebration a few weeks before Lent. It begins to Peak the weekend before Ash wednesday. It is a time of costumed craziness and uninhibited revelry when the very idea of Quot Normal is stood on its head. Men pay Don stockings bras and dresses and women masquerade As men millionaires and paupers Exchange role. Marital indiscretions Are generally viewed in a More tolerant Light than at other tiry ies. Husbands and wives May split up at the Start of an evening and not see each other until the next morning. Participants in Mitt Waid Germany Wear carved masks during their festivities in Bavaria. These Nar Rische foolish goings on become the Rule. The biggest German Fasching events Are the Rose Montag parades in Cologne Mainz and Dusseldorf which attract hundreds of thousands of spectators and Are carried live on German television. Rose Montag a literally Rose monday a is probably an corruption of Arsender Montag a frenzied monday. In parts of the Black Forest Schmo Zige Dau Stag dirty tuesday is the big Day. Unlike the lighthearted Rhineland parades Rothweil s Fasnet presents a weird spectacle of streets filled with wooden masked witches and demons that harks Back to ancient Alemanni festivals. Fasching balls and sit Yungen Are other popular features of the celebrations. The latter Are gatherings at which Public figures politicians and current events Are roasted in rhyming satire and of course there Are private parties ranging from gatherings of a few friends to tickets Only fests for hundreds in rented Halls. Many pubs and bars will offer some kind of merrymaking in the final Days before Lent. Guests Are not required to Don costumes though Many do. But it is not Only the it germans who become infected with carnival fever. Their austrian cousins Mark the season with myriad festivities ranging from Village ski races to the elegant balls. Of vienna., even the Swiss sometimes stereotyped As dour workaholics Are not immune. The Best Celebration is Basel s fasnacht held the week after Ash wednesday. Locarno Zurich Appenzell and Lugano also celebrate in a big Way. In Bel Giunn the festivities am spread across most of the country but two of the biggest Are in malt Fly and the Mardi gras in Binche. Italy s High Point is the Carnevale in Venice. Sixteenth Century costumes harking Back. To the City s glory Days As la Sereni Sima the most Serene Are the hallmark of the introspective anachronistic fete in the City of canals and crumbling palazzi. Verona Milan and Many other towns also Mark the carnival season with parades costume displays and parties. France s most captivating carnival celebrations Are the Flower parades on the Riviera. The Best is Nice s Bataille de Fleurs Battle of the Flower where the weapons Are blossoms not bombs. In the coming weeks most of Europe will contract carnival fever. It is a great Way to forget the Gray skies and chill winds. Following two simple rules will help make sure your carnival Celebration is Safe arid fun a do As the natives do. A Don t drive if you drink alcohol. This year the biggest concentration of events will take place feb. 10-21. Rose Montag is feb 22. In Basel the Celebration really gets going March 1. Whatever it s called europeans ready to celebrate end of Winter a ��0 a a. A a a a february 11, stripes Magazine 3
