Stranger in a Strange Land: Mission (Somewhat) Accomplished...

I left off on Friday claiming that I was going to get to the bottom of the Fasching/Fasnet festival. Well, after a whirlwind weekend of attending all things Fasching/Fasnet related, I did find out some valuable information about the festival. So, I guess my mission was somewhat accomplished. :)

Here are a few of the facts I learned over the weekend...

1) This festival goes by different names depending on where it is being held in Germany. Germany has three locations where this festival is extremely popular... Northern Germany (Cologne, Dusseldorf, and surrounding areas) where the festival is called Carneval, Bavaria (Munich and surrounding areas) where the festival is called Fasching, and Southern Germany (the area where we live, along with certain parts of Austria and Switzerland) where the festival is called Fasnet or Fastnacht. Each area celebrates in its own unique way...

2) The area in which we live in Southern Germany is unique in their celebration of Fasnet in that this is the only place where you can find the costumes and special masks worn in the parades. This is called the Alemannische Fasnet. The festival here begins on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. It's known in this region as Schmotziger Donnerstag(Dirty/Fat/Greasy Thursday).... Basically, it is a day when tradition says that women take control. Hence the reason for the cutting of the neck ties last Thursday... The neck tie symbolizes "man", so the women cut them to show that the male dominance has ended and they are in control. The festival then continues through the weekend until Tuesday (the day before Lent begins)... Typically, Friday - Monday (called Rosenmontag) are the party days and people can get a little crazy! The two weekends before Rosenmontag and the day of Rosenmontag are traditionally when the parades are held. Once Ash Wednesday rolls around, the festival is officially over. So, basically, you can view this whole festival as a way for the Germans to really party it up and totally let lose before they have to crack down and begin fasting for Lent. :)

3) The traditions in the other areas of Germany are quite different than in this area. This area is based on very old traditions, while the northern areas of Germany began celebrating there version as a means of political opposition in the beginning of the 19th century. Many of the people during that time were looking for ways to oppose the counts and dukes of the German states (they did not tolerate any form of opposition at that time), so the people formed clubs. The clubs organized parties and parades with alot of political humor and they gave funny speaches making fun of the government. This resulted in the northern Germany form of Carneval. Today, they still celebrate this and their celebrations consist of parades, political humor, and festive costumes (i.e. princesses, kings, etc...).

4) The masks and costumes worn during Fasnet in this area are a very old tradition in Southern Germany. The masks and costumes (most of them being witches, demons, earthly spirits, and scary animals) basically symbolize the end of winter and beginning of spring. The scary costumes scare away the demons associated with winter, which then leads into Lent (40 days of fasting), and then following that is the "birth" of spring. Interesting.

5) The costumes are viewed as being very special. In order to be a part of the groups of people that wear these costumes, you have to be initiated... This can sometimes take up to five years. You have to earn a certain amount of points (earned by doing social activities and community service) each year in order to walk in the parades with your full costume. The costumes are all handmade and the masks are all hand-carved and they can cost anywhere between 600 to 1,000 euro! Many of the groups that walk in the parade are very "mischevious" and they mess with many of the spectators... Typically if a costumed character picks on you, that is viewed as an honor. :)

I actually found the past weekend to be very interesting! I love learning about all of their traditions here! It's amazing to me to think that many of these traditions have been going on for thousands of years! It's such a special thing... to think that the people here are so involved in this tradition and it's something that is passed down from generation to generation... Coming from the U.S. (being that we're such a young country), it's interesting to see something like this, as we don't really have anything that compares (outside of the 4th of July! :))...

That's definitely one of the great things about being able to live over here... Being able to take part in some of these events has truly helped to open my eyes and mind to the traditions and beliefs of other cultures. I find it absolutely fascinating! :)

And, on that note, I hope you enjoy the rest of the pics from our Fasnet celebration... :)

The streets of Friedrichshafen were lined with people waiting for the parade! :)

Look at all of the people! :)

This was our view of the parade... We were invited to watch it from the language school we go to... It was so nice to watch it from a nice warm building! :)

Watching the parade while drinking a glass of Sekt (champagne)... Not too shabby! :)

Like I said, it's supposed to be an honor to be picked on by the characters... All I know, is that I probably wouldn't be too happy about it! :)

I like how families do this together... :)

They "netted" themselves some spectators! :)

This was interesting... The costumed people would grab spectators and then put them into the round, wooden cage. They would then all run at full speed down the road, and the cage would spin in circles!!

Meanwhile, the cage was spinning pretty fast!

I thought this was an interesting costume... :)

And, of course, I loved the cats! :)

Apples and pears... They represent all of the fruit that is grown around the Bodensee... :)

I would definitely not want to be this poor girl! I can't even imagine how long it's going to take her to get all of that confetti out of her hair and clothes! :)

And, yet another spectator getting picked on...

Yikes!

The Sea Chickens! :)

I think that this costume has to be my favorite! :)

This is the metzger (butcher) that walks behind the chickens... Apparently, on the last day of Fasnet, he "butchers" all but one of the chickens... And, that chicken has to lay the eggs for next year's "parade chickens"... :)

And, towards the end of the parade, came this group... This costume represents the coming of spring... yay! :)

After the parade, some of the hexen came to the language school to visit us... :)

Look at the detail on that mask... wow!

Hanging out with a hexen... :)

They actually let me try on a mask... Very cool! I guess it's not very often that they do that, so I felt quite honored! :) I give them credit for wearing them... They're very heavy! :)

After the Friedrichshafen parade, we headed over to Uberlingen for their Fasnet parade... Their parade is special in that it has much more of a "dark" feel to it... No, bright and cheery costumes can be found here!

The only costume represented in this parade is the Hansele...

This Hansele was showing off his "whipping" skills...

The Hansele costumes are considered to be very special... Apparently, only men are allowed to wear them (and many of the women get very excited when the Hansele walk by... We were told that the women really like the fact that they're so "mysterious"... Hmmm... :))... The costumes are black with colorful swatches of fabric, and their mask consists of a long, black nose that has a soft, scented end... They walk up to spectators (primarily women) and rub their "noses" on the women's faces...