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Date: 3/3/2011
Place: Germany, Cologne
Carnival has been celebrated in the City of Cologne since time immemorial. However, after the French Revolutionary troops left Cologne in 1814 and the Prussians took over, it was high time to "organise" the street carnival which, the new authority felt, was getting out of hand.
Thus, in 1823 the "Festordnendes Komitee" was founded, the predecessor of todays Festival Committee.
On February 10, 1823 Cologne celebrated the first Rose Monday ("Rosenmontag") with the motto "Inthronisation of the Carnival Hero".
Over the years, decades and centuries certain traditions and customs emerged, which are still the hallmark of the traditional Cologne Carnival: the indoor festivities (sessions and balls) and, of course, the street carnival, culminating in the grand parade on Rose Monday. It is the task of the Festival Committee, the umbrella organisation representing well over 100 Cologne carnival associations, traditional corps, etc., to coordinate, set common standards, and preserve the tradition of the "fifth season".
No doubt, the Cologne "Karneval" plays in the Champions League together with the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and Carnival in Venice!
THE CARNIVAL SEASON
Given its Christian roots, the date of Rose Monday is determined by the Church calendar: It takes place on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent leading up to Good Friday and Easter. Traditionally, the fifth season is declared open at 11 minutes past eleven on the eleventh of November! The Carnival spirit is then temporarily suspended by the Advent and Christmas period, and picks up again "in earnest" in the New Year. Street carnival, also called "the crazy days", takes places between Thursday (Women’s Carnival Day) before Rose Monday and ends on Ash Wednesday.
COLOGNE CARNIVAL MUSEUM - Tradition, fascination, diversity
The Cologne Carnival Museum, the largest and most modern museum of its kind in the German-speaking world, opened in June 2005 and presents the history of carnival from its beginnings to the present day. On a journey through the ages, starting with Classical Antiquity, the exhibition highlights topics such as “the Fool”, “Lent and Shrovetide”, “Commedia dell’Arte”, “Carnival in Crisis” and “Carnival during Germany’s Economic Miracle”.
The exhibition offers a comprehensive insight into the different facets of carnival in the Rhineland, ranging from carnival “Sitzungen” (sessions) and the “Triumvirate” to Cologne’s “Schull- und Veedelszöch”-parades. It also looks at stage entertainers, carnival music and alternative forms of carnival and thus reflects the different aspects of carnival culture in Cologne.
This unique collection goes back to the archives of the “Festkomitee des Kölner Karnevals von 1823 e.V.” which has been managed by carnival enthusiasts and continuously enlarged since the 1960s. Just one year after its opening, the museum received the award “Ort der Ideen und Innovation 2006” (place of ideas and innovation).
IN 2011 THE CARNIVAL DATES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
• Women's Carnival Day, Thursday, 03 March 2011 - Official opening of the street carnival at 11:11 hrs at the Alter Markt in the heart of the old town of Cologne.
• Carnival Saturday, 05 March 2011 - Traditional "Funkenbiwak", the gathering of the colourful Corps troops at the Neumarkt.
• Carnival Sunday, 06 March 2011 - School group parade through the city centre starting at 11:00 hrs.
• Rose Monday, 07 March 2011 - The climax of street carnival, with the official parade starting before 11:00 hrs, organised by the , Festive Committee of the Cologne Carnival.
• Carnival Tuesday, 08 March 2011 - Various Carnival parades in the suburbs of Cologne.
• Ash Wednesday, 09 March 2011 - Traditionally, fish dinners are served at pubs and restaurants
THE PARADE ON ROSE MONDAY
No doubt, the highlight of the street carnival is Rose Monday with over 12.000 participants (one-third of them female) 500 horses , 128 floats and 123 bands in 2010.
The 2011 motto: "Cologne: it's hard to beat!". Don't miss it!
© Source link: http://www.koelnerkarneval.de/fastelovend-op-englisch.html
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