Carnival (“Fasching”) around Germany

Within 100 years carnival has degener­ated from a dramatic street spectacle to a nonsensical, enormously expensive pa­rade. What has become of the old cus­toms? One thing is for certain. This one­time festival of the common people has become hard work in the centuries of carnival and fasching. There are about 100 carnival organizations in Cologne alone. And all of them want to hold their own special carnival meeting sometime be­tween November 11, when carnival be­gins, and Shrove Tuesday. The job of car­nival orator has become a recognized pro­fession.

Fasnacht

If carnival celebrations in big cites are for tourists, TV and the public at large, the Alemannic fasnacht has remained a kind of mirror of the local people. Each of the little Alemannic towns of the Black Forest region has created its own varied carnival life.

Rottweil is just about the center of fas­nacht happenings. The so-called race of fools started in the pretty Alemannic town in the 16th century, but then became forgot­ten. Rottweil citizens in 1903, re-founded their jesters' guild and the guild master today rules over more than a thousand members who regard their annual jester performance as serious and important work.

Early in the morning on Shrove Tuesday the master of the jesters' guild stands at Rottweil's Black Gate to see that all of his jesters are dressed according to the guild's rules. Their clothing is clean and correctly worn with white gloves, black boots and the obligatory jesters gown. Thinly carved wooden masks, painted colorfully, complete the outfit. Women may also play jester, though they must not be recognized as women beneath their masks. This once wouldn't have been possible. How times do change!

The great leap of the fools through the Black Gate begins punctually at eight, ac­companied by marching music and the ringing of bells. It really is an unforgettable specta­cle. The pride and confidence of the citi­zens is reflected in the beautiful and costly­ costumes. Mask carvers are busy all year long making them. Active participants in the Alemannic-Swabian fasnacht can own as many as eight different masks. In case one of them is recognized under his mask he quickly runs home and changes it.

The social history of all carnival regions reveals that the traditions are rooted in commerce and the guilds. Records of car­nival traditions in most places begin early in the modern era, around the 15th and 16th centuries. There was a decline of activities in the 19th century, but nowa­days carnival flourishes all over. Nostalgia plays a role; creating a longing, in our hectic and technological age, for folklore, handcrafts and the old ways.