MARDI GRAS IS HERE
AGAIN
The Mid West biggest Celebration
LINK TO PRINCESSION PAARE AND PICTURES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Unser Prinzen Paar Karl II mit Ihrer Lieblichkeit Prinzessin Catherine und Ihrem
Elferrat und Ihrem Hofstaat am Samstag den 22ten Februar 2020 und ein paar
Bilder von unseren Preistraegern und von einem wunderschoenen Abend mit viel
GESANG, TANZ und ALAAF und HELAU
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LINK
TO PRINCESSION PAARE AND PICTURES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
What is Karneval
“Karneval is a German Festival, beginning on 11th
day of the 11th Month and continuing until the day before Ash
Wednesday every year.
Although no one is quite sure of exactly when this
tradition began, it is thought to have originated sometime between Christ’s life
on Earth and the Middle Ages. It
gained in popularity in the 13th Century. Karneval has a religious
background, and is celebrated in the period before Lent as a time of frolic, fun
and gaiety, which includes a great deal of indulgence in food and drink. Ash Wednesday’s arrival brought and end
to this “sinful life” as the celebrants assumed a more “Christian” attitude of
fasting and penitence. (This explains why Karneval is called “Fastnacht” meaning
the night before fasting).
“Karneval” is celebrated all over Germany, in towns
large and small. Comedies and parodies ate presented on stages and in theaters. There are splendid masked balls, some
more formal than others. There are
private parties, organized special committee meeting known as “Sessions” which
are indoor celebrations. Outdoor
festivities include colorful parades with giant floats and costumed people. Indoors or out people sway
“(schunkel) and sing songs especially composed for Karneval season. Some melodies gain so much popularity as
to be remembered and sung for years to come.
The “Sessions” feature dancing girls, comic acts,
singers and “Barrel Speeches” or “Büttenreden”.
The later are humorous and/or satirical, often directed at people in
government or other public figures.
The speeches were given by speakers who stood on up-turned half barrels thus the
term “barrel speeches”.
Planning and organization of the Karneval is done by a
special committee, composed of exactly members, therefore called “The Council of
Eleven” (Elferrat). This men are considered the “most worthy of the townsmen who
are always seated together at a special table.
Each wears a fool’s hat and his special medals. The “fool’s” hat with its bells, the
very symbol of the Karneval, developed into quite a colorful attraction over the
years. In recent decades a
“Marshall” enters the hall, followed by the “Funkengarde”, a group of costumed
dancing girls who precede an ornately decorated wagon which carries the Prince
and Princess of the Karneval.
In the United States and Canada there are still many
areas which keep the Karvenal tradition very much alive.