Posted on February 24, 2020
(Shrove Monday)
Fat Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras / Carnival / Pancake Day (all names for basically the same thing) are huge parties, celebrations whose calendar date vary every year. Shrove Tuesday falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday - which is the first day of Lent - varies every year because it is based on the date of Easter...
...Which varies every year!
Well, the Monday before Shrove Tuesday is also a time of party and celebration in some places. It also has different names such as Shrove Monday and Rose Monday. In Germany it's called Rosenmontag.
German names for the before-Lent festival season also vary: Karneval, Fastnacht, Fasnet, Fosnat, and Fasching.
Why so many names?
Well, these festivals are regional, and each region has different traditions and even emphasizes a different day during the Carnival season, so it makes sense that each region would also have its own name. Fasching is the name used in Bavaria and Austria, for example, and Karneval is used in the Rhineland, including Cologne (Köln, in German). These festival days are generally not considered public holidays - in other words, schools and government offices are not closed - but the parties are big enough to affect some work!
Back in pagan times, these festivals represented efforts to drive out the winter. People dressed up in masquerade costumes with scary masks, and they made a lot of noise, all to scare away the "ghosts" of winter. The festivals also honored the pagan Goddess Freya and celebrated the beginning of spring.
When Christianity started to become more common, missionaries and priests shifted the pagan celebrations away from goddess worship and ghosts, toward Easter and Lent.
Did you know that the name Carnival comes from the Latin carne vale, which means "farewell to meat"? During Lent, many Catholics abstain from eating meat, eggs, or milk (and I guess that means all dairy products), and they abstain from drinking alcohol. Having a substantial number of people in the world go vegan for a month and a half is actually a very good thing for the planet!
But having times to let go, to relax some of society's rules and expectations, to celebrate, to party - that can be a very good thing for people, too.
Check out Rosenmontag parades in Köln, Dusseldorf, and Mainz:
Colorful floats sometimes poke fun at politicians.
Brass bands
Dance groups
Candies and small bouquets of flowers are thrown into the crowds watching the parades.
The last float is the Karneval "prince"s float.
Also on this date:
Plan ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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Rosenmontag in Germany is a wonderful holiday filled with fun and joy. On this day, people celebrate carnivals and enjoy great traditions. However, after all this fun hustle and bustle, it's important to remember to take care of yourself and your well-being. A visit to the spa is a great way to relax and rejuvenate after the holidays. At this spa, you can enjoy a variety of treatments and massages to help you relax, de-stress and restore harmony to your body and soul. Don't forget to take care of yourself, even during the holidays, and you can fully enjoy all the joys that Rosenmontag will bring.
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