The highlight of the German traditional Karneval (carnival) is Rosenmontag or the Rose Monday. It is the speciality of the Rhenish Carnival and the day falls on the Monday right before Ash Wednesday. Moreover, 48 days post this day is supposed to be Easter Sunday.
It is a matter of celebration and marks a holiday for children, on the other hand the work time period is reduced so that people can enjoy themselves. The Rose Monday is in-fact mispronounced; ideally it should be Rasen Montag which means rushing Monday or live it up Monday.
The Karneval season
As the 11th minute of the 11th hour passes on the 11th of November a traditional carnival commences on the German streets and other places as well. This street carnival is supposed to occur on the Thursday before Rosenmontag. The interesting part about this carnival is that it is a special carnival for and organised by women themselves, it is also known as: Weiberfastnacht.
The Karnevel spreads across the Roman traditions of the upturning of the society for a day. What used to happen was that the slaves and servants in those days would become masters for a day. This day in-fact marks the beginning of the festival of Lent which is categorised by the spirit of sacrifice. During this day, the practitioners and believers forgo eating meat and take up a vegetarian diet for as long as the festival goes on.
During the carnival all the schools in Germany remain closed on the day of Rosenmontag and the Tuesday that follows, but it is not a matter of a national holiday. You can spot people dressing up in costumes of various kinds along with dances, parades and heavy drinking. Interestingly, amongst the districts who are involved in parading, a kind of unofficial competition has emerged in the recent times as to which district can boast of better parades. Within these parades locally made and traditional sweets and tulips are distributes as a gesture of giving and slogan shouting as well goes on. The next day of the celebration intensity of the previous day quiets down. The next day is known as Violet Tuesday and the celebration culminates with Aschermittwoch or Ash Wednesday.
The celebrations are quite extravagant throughout the carnival season. In cities like Munich for example 400 balls are organised and similar arrangements are made in other towns such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mainz, Münster, and Berlin as well. Rosenmontag involves the creation of an exquisite yet a rather free atmosphere. People reach new bounds of craziness and the fun extends all rationale. A unique feature of this time is that people walk up to strangers and kiss them in the very fit of the moment.
The History
Moreover, the origins of the carnival in-fact go as far back as the Roman times, nearly two thousand years ago. There used to be a carnivalisque tradition under which an upturning of the social system would take place. That is, slaves and servants would take over the roles of the masters for a whole day during this time of the year. In other parts of Europe this day was known as the Mid Summers eve festival, where people would also masquerade and indulge in parades and other perverse activities.
It was on the 10th of February in 1823 when the first organised form of carnival took place. Since the 1830’s the carnival took on popularity and began to be known as Rosenmontagszug. Moreover, the first Düsseldorf Rosenmontagszug which began on the 14th of February 1825, it was later moved on to the 26th of February. But it was still referred to as masquerade.
For the Christians, this carnival marks the end of the period before Lent which is again marked as the period before Easter begins. During the season of lent many pious Christians fast and involve themselves in prayers and public service. Also, they do not consume meat, sugar, or drink alcohol in any form during the time of Lent. This is also a reason for the carnival celebration when people can devour and indulge as much as they can before the time of Lent arrives and the restrictions are imposed.
As far as the nomenclature goes, the origin of Rosenmontag goes, it is said to have originated from the German word roose which when translated in English means frolic and Montag refers to Monday. Traditionally, the Pope, on the fourth Monday of Lent consecrates a golden rose on the Sunday, therefore, the name of the day.
The Parade
The parade of Rose Monday usually begins a little early and as the day progresses it ends up extending a long way. Sometimes being as long as six and a half kilometres and includes participants who number in tens of thousands. Usually you can spot many effigies of politicians, stereotypes, German habits and other public figures and they are raised in mockery and satirical manners.
Carnival parades are not limited to cities alone; they also extend up to villages, towns and smaller cities. Among these places Aachen and Mainz are the hot spots of celebration, people from neighbouring locales join in and have a time of their lives. Spectators who simply enjoy just standing by and watching the parade go by collect in thousands and cheer the crowd as they roar and scream their lungs out. You can also spot marching bands that are the energy centres of every parade. Interestingly, a lot of cross-dressed people also join along with people dressed as mythical characters and in other jovial attires.
Within the parade there are many local customs involved as well. For instance, singing songs on various subjects some of which might be of recent adversarial effects on public life at large, songs also may be of protest in nature and narrative based. In the southern part of Germany cabarets and theatrical performances are also conducted during the carnivals. Catholic areas in most parts of Germany are mostly left out for simple religious purposes.