It's Karneval time! (or was, when this post was written)A little background...
Apparently Karneval developed in this area really strongly because it was a way to express subversive anti-Prussian and anti-French thoughts in times of occupation, through parody and mockery. Cologne and Dusseldorf are the epi-center of Karneval happenings - and you either love it or hate it.
Basically, it runs from the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, to Ash Wednesday itself. On different days, there are different emphases - like on Altweiber, women cut off men's ties. Then there's the carnival fools take over city hall literally. Rosenmontag (Rose Monday), most businesses are closed and there are parades and more tomfoolery (read: public drunkeness before lunch). In Bochum, there is even a special Goose-riding club that puts on a crazy event where horseback riders try to catch a greased goose. Cultural idiosyncrasies are tough to translate at the best of times, so yes, it is as weird as it sounds :)
So far, for us, all we know is that Lia gets to dress up (like a Princess, of course!) for 4 days, and she's pretty excited. I put a little bit of blush and lip gloss on her this morning, and she just looked at me adoringly and said, "Mommy, I love you!" I melted. She was very solemn as she danced to crazy polka music at the kindergarten. Funny.
We didn't participate in too many other Karneval events, but we did do the 
Rosenmontag parade (walking distance from our house) - and our kids both collected more candy than they'll be allowed to eat in a year!
1 comment:
Hi Karla,
It sounds and looks like the adventures continue! I am still enjoying your entries very much - thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date. Both girls look like they are growing fast in your photos!
Take care,
Allyson
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