European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 03, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Revellers use occasion to Chase out old Man Winter participants dress for Fastnacht in Basel Switzerland. The float of the King of Europe leads the procession through the streets of Nice France. Byed Reavis staff writer much of Europe particularly the Catholic regions celebrates it King carnival. It s a season americans in Europe simply should t miss. The germans Call it the fifth season of the year carnival a time of boisterous Celebration colourful balls and private parties Zany parades and Odd and often obscene customs and costumes. In Germany the season begins at the 11 the minute of the 11th hour of the 11th month and reaches its Peak on tuesday before ending on Ash wednesday the beginning of Lent when the fasting season begins. On Ash wednesday a mock funeral is held with dirges and a so called penitents meal eaten while King carnival is Laid to rest until next november. The festivity goes by several names carnival Fasching Fastnacht fast Etor waste Lovend to name a few and ignore Many names in dialects. Inherent in All the names is the concept of  one explanation of the word carnivale is that it is derived from the latin came Vale or flesh  experts claim the carnival season peaked in the 11 the and 15th centuries in Europe particularly in the Fastnacht Spiele carnival plays in Nurnberg Germany and in Nice France As Well As the italian cities of Venice Naples and Florence. Carnival in Venice today is a spectacular that cannot deny its 15th-Century roots with its myriad costumes copied from the fashion of the times and from the Commedia Del arte theater characters. Wherever it is celebrated in Spain France the Netherlands Belgium Germany Switzerland Italy Greece or elsewhere there is one common denominator the festival takes place during the Waining Days of Winter. Experts claim that the origins of carnival Are lost in the mists of time but they Are certain it has to do with driving out the demons of Winter the dead season when nothing grows and invoking the rites of Spring when the Earth turns Green and Fertile. In Many regions grotesque masks and behaviour to the Point of licentiousness Mark the Celebration. Every Little town has some kind of Fasching Celebration generally with local color and customs that require explanation to inquisitive outsiders. Carnival or Fasching supposedly has its source in the ancient roman Bacchanalia Lupercalia or saturnalia celebrations characterized by excesses of every sort from the language to food consumption and sexual mores. In Germany the most famous celebrations Are the loud and Gaudy Rheinland versions such As the festivities in Mainz Cologne and Dusseldorf. The main characteristics of these celebrations Are the parodied prussian uniforms and satirized military rituals such As contorted salutes saluting by putting forearm across the Chest and shading the forehead with hand Palm facing upward. In contrast to Tho loud Brash carnival of the Rheinland is the quiet almost subdued atmosphere of Fasching festivities in the Black Forest Region there the official parades and the entire Celebration have a number of clearly defined characters such As bad Mouth or horse which have set patterns of behaviour for the duration of the season. The rest of the population celebrates around and with these characters but in a less noisy blustery and Drunken manner than the spectacles from the Rheinland carnival centers that Are annually shown on National German television. Although Northern europeans claim to find the carnival celebrations in the Southern parts of the continent silly and vulgar it is usually the scandinavians and British who make Holiday plans to be on the spot when the fifth season reaches its Peak. February 3, 1994 stripes Nugine