One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
-Dale Carnegie
Rosenmontag (Rose Monday)
- is the highlight of the German
"Karneval" (carnival), and is on the Shrove Monday before Ash
Wednesday, the beginning of Lent The "Mardi Gras," though
celebrated on Tuesday, is a similar event. Rosenmontag is celebrated in
German-speaking countries, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but most
heavily in the "Hochburgen" (carnival strongholds), which include the
Rhineland, especially in Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Mainz. In contrast to Germany, in Austria, the highlight of the carneval is not
Rosenmontag, but Faschingsdienstag (Shrove Tuesday).
Families and children in costumes, Rosenmontag in Aachen
The Karneval season begins at 11 minutes past the
eleventh hour on the 11th of November and the "street carnival"
starts on the Thursday before Rosenmontag, which is known as Weiberfastnacht
("women's carnival"). Karneval is prevalent in Roman Catholic areas
and is a continuation of the old Roman traditions of slaves and servants being
master for a day. Karneval derives from the Latin carnem levare ("taking
leave of meat") marking the beginning of Lent.]
Carnival is not a national holiday in Germany, but
schools are closed on Rosenmontag and the following Tuesday in the strongholds
and many other areas. Many schools as well as companies tend to give teachers,
pupils and employees the Thursday before Rosenmontag off as well and have
celebrations in school or in the working place on Weiberfastnacht, although
every now and then there are efforts to cut these free holidays in some
companies.
Celebrations usually include dressing up in fancy
costumes, dancing, parades, heavy drinking and general public displays with
floats. Every town in the Karneval areas boasts at least one parade with floats
making fun of the themes of the day.Usually sweets (Kamelle) are thrown
into the crowds lining the streets among cries of "Helau" or
"Alaaf", whereby the cry "Kölle Alaaf" is only applied in
the Cologne area – the exact meaning of Alaaf is disputed, it may stem from
"alaf", Celtic for "luck", or "Alle af",
Ripuarian for "all [others] away". Sweets and tulips are thrown into
the crowd.
The celebrations become quieter the next day, known as Veilchendienstag ("Violet Tuesday", Shrove Tuesday), and end with "Aschermittwoch" (Ash Wednesday).
(pls use the translator)
Was bedeutet Rosenmontag?
Der Rosenmontag oder auf kölsch „Rusemondaach“ (Ruse = Rosen) erinnert an den Sonntag Lätare, den Rosensonntag, der in Köln seit dem 16. Jahrhundert als „Halbfasten“ gefeiert wurde. An diesem Tag, der Mitte der Fastenzeit, lebte die Erinnerung an den vergangenen Karneval noch einmal auf.
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