Every Sunday before Mardi Gras/ Shrove Tuesday the so called "Traunsteiner Faschingszug" (a carnival parade) takes place in Garmisch, Bayern. The creativity and fantasy of the dressed up inhabitants is really impressive...
One can meet from Pirates of the Caribbean to weird creatures of the Middle Age up to some jumping pigs (dont miss the video, at the end of this entry:)
"Fasching" is the word used for carnival in parts of East and South Germany and Austria. The etymologists are not sure about the origin of the name "carnival". Most explanations are derived from the Italian and Latin expressions "carne levare" or "carne vale", indicating the last days when one could eat meat before the fasting. While the starting day of Carnival varies, the festival usually builds up in the week before lent, ending on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In (Eastern Orthodox) areas Carnival ends on the Sunday seven weeks before Easter.
I have seen and experienced the carnival in Switzerland in the town of Lachen on Zurich See.
ReplyDeleteYour photos make me want to return to explore central europe at this time of year.