November 11: Köln Karneval

On 11 November, at 11:11 am, the Köln Karneval or Cologne Karneval begins. The Karneval, which is celebrated in Cologne, Germany, is also considered “the fifth season” and lasts for about three months. The origin of the word Karneval is disputed however most translate it to “Farewell to meat/flesh” in Latin because it is a season before Lent and ends on Ash Wednesday. Karneval was first documented in 1341. However, it was not until in 1823 that the Karneval themes were popularized.

The festival incorporates food, masquerades, and street parades. One event during this fifth season is the Tolle Tage [“Crazy Days”] which begins on Fat Thursday and ends on Ash Wednesday. Rosenmontag [“Rose Monday”] is a masquerade that takes place two days before Ash Wednesday. On this day, people celebrate in a parade. Aside from Köln, the Karneval is also celebrated in other German speaking countries and is most similar to America’s Mardi Gras celebration.

Many people who came to attend the Karneval dressed in full costume. Many of the Karneval traditions are heavily influenced from traditions that date before Christianity. For example, the masquerades were worn before it was acknowledged as a Christian tradition and for the purpose of driving away evil spirits.

Carnivals today are popularized and carry on similar themes since the middle ages and prior. Some differences are that they are culturally appropriated and carry on different themes and meanings. Examples are found in the Caribbean where carnivals are symbolic of slavery coming to an end.

–James Beni Wilson

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Meet the Author: James Beni Wilson

I am currently a student at Schoolcraft Community College. I’ll soon be transferring to Wayne State University in the Spring to pursue my degree in Social Work. I own a blog called Pathos of Asian Adoptees which is a submission blog for Asian Adoptees to tell their stories via oral tradition. I also teach Filipino language and Filipino American, Filipino History and Cultural Identity at the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan as a mentor.

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Schoolcraft College Student
Categories: World History: Early Modern, World History: Modern
Tags: entertainment, Geremany

6 Responses

Brian Rowe says:

12 November 2012 at 4:55 pm

When I hear there is a fair going on I immediately think of the one i went to as a kid the Livonia spree. As a kid it was a place to go with aunt to go on rides, eat, and if i was lucky win a giant scooby doo stuffed animal. As i got older it was nothing more than a place to get drunk with my friends and hangout. However to the Romans fairs were much more than just a source for entertainment. They were set up as market places, and were crucial for international trade. Traders would travel days to these fairs to meet other people to buy and sell from.
In 1851 the first Worlds fair was held in London it was called “The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations.” Unlike Roman fairs which were based mostly off of trade this fair was set up so Countries around the world could show off their what they had accomplished. Some notable people at the first world fair were Charles Darwin and Samuel Colt. These fairs still go on today and act as a place for people to showcase what they have to offer to the world.

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Mikhala Ruonavaara says:

25 November 2012 at 2:00 am

The celebrations of the German Karneval and the American Mardi Gras are very similar to the Greek carnival of Apokries. This celebration took place at the end of winer to honor the Greek god of wine and joy, Dionysus. Their celebration lasted for three weeks with the parties and celebrations gradually becoming crazier by the end of the three week period. A forty day Lent came immediately after Apokries. The last weekend of the carnaval is now celebrated with thousands of people masqueraded in outlandish coustumes and masks in a massive parade filled with music, confetti, and great food. The first day of Lent for the Greeks is known as “Clean Monday.”

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Olivia Reed says:

2 December 2012 at 10:01 am

Reading this entry, I was immediately reminded of the Carnevale di Venezia. Carnevale is said to have started in 1162 with the victory of Venice (then called Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia) against the Patriarch of Aquileia, when the people of Venice began to dance in the Piazza San Marco in honour of the victory. The festival became more official during the renaissance and later declined in the eighteenth century. After its decline, Carnevale was revived in 1979. Carnevale is very well known for the elaborate masks worn by the people. Today, one of the main events, held in the last week of the Carnevale, is a contest for the best mask.

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Alan Hammell says:

7 December 2012 at 12:16 am

The Karneval symbolizes much more than passion for faith or typical gatherings for parties. The days spent under the costumes, eating food, and thousands of people dancing are to wash away everyday problems are stresses. It’s a time to let go and realized that there’s still a lot more to life.
To go along with the underlying factors of Karneval, there are actual figures that represent much more as well. For example, the Dreisgestirn, consisting of the two sides of Prinz Karneval, Junngfrau and Bauer, and Prinz himself. Together they all have symbolic meaning as well. To start off with Junngfrau, he symbolizes Koln’s inaccessibility to enemy forces. Mainly due to the fact they never broke to city walls. The Bauer, representing a peasant, was a symbol of the old city’s defense.
Looking at the Karneval from then and now, show great amounts of the traditions still exist.

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Emily Rumrill says:

9 December 2012 at 4:18 pm

Germany takes part in many exciting festivals; one of the most famous would be Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest happens every year for 16 straight days from the end of September to the beginning of October. It is the world’s largest fair, which resides in Bavaria, Germany and has been in existence since 1810. From all over the world, people come to join in song, drink beer, and eat authentic German cuisine. The festival not only provides live music, delicious food, and all the beer you can drink, but also includes an array of amusement park rides to offer further excitement to the visitors.

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Jennifer Orzel says:

9 December 2012 at 4:39 pm

Carnival belongs strongly to the Romans. Starting in the Middle Ages was the Carnevale Romano, or Roman Carnival. It was very popular, drawing the whole population as well as pilgrims and people from all over the world. Lasting from the middle of the fifteenth century to 1882, it closed with a horse race. This race was made up of about fifteen to twenty horses. Originally, they were imported from the Barbary Coast of North Africa. They would race, riderless, down the Via del Corso in about two and a half minutes. Considered a wide street at the time, it is roughly thirty-three feet wide and almost a mile long, as well as perfectly straight. The name of the street was derived from that of this race: the “corsa dei barberi”. The popularity of the Roman Carnival began to fall in 1870, but has been revived in modern times.

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