German Traditions

Though we were in Budapest during the culmination of the German Karneval season, we arrived home in time to see a few costumed revelers returning home on Rosenmontag.

Karneval (derived from Latin meaning 'without meat') begins 11 minutes after the 11th hour on the 11th of November but really comes into its own on the Thursday before Shrove Monday, Rosenmontag, with the women's carnival or Weiberfastnacht. On Weiberfastnacht, women are welcome to cut the ties off of men who dare to wear them on that day. Aware of the custom, most men choose to wear inexpensive ties. Because Lent traditionally marked a time of fasting, many German families also prepare a feast on Weiberfastnacht.

Rosenmontag is an official holiday in our area, and the parade in Mainz is the biggest such one in Germany with floats, dancers, costumed spectators and an elaborate protocol. It is also the only time when people greet each other with 'helau' versus the everyday 'hallo.' Mainz puts New Orleans to shame if only in the respect that it's so unusual to see everyone uninhibited and unreserved (though in a way that's not offensive to the prudish :).