Now, from what I was told about Fasching, I assumed that it was a traditional festival which consisted of parades with people dressed up in unusual costumes that were held during a couple of weekends in February... The atmosphere was very festive and colorful and people just drank and had a good time on the weekend. And, I assumed that all of those festivities then culminated with a grand parade in larger cities this coming weekend. And then Fasching is over... Oh, how wrong was I!
I now know that this whole festival carries on through the middle of next week... And, apparently, the next few days are a VERY big deal around here! (So big, in fact, that our gym is actually closing at 2 p.m. most days until next Wednesday... Are you kidding me?! For someone who likes to work out at night, rather than in the morning, this is cause for a MAJOR inconvenience! But, I digress...) What goes on during the next few days is completely beyond me though! I have to admit, that it's times like this where I can really feel that I'm an outsider in their culture... And, as of right now, I feel as if I've entered an alternate reality! :)
Here's a few examples of why I'm feeling so puzzled, and why I want to get to the bottom of this Fasching business...
1) Yesterday, I took the train into town. When I got off the train and began walking through the Stadtbahnhof, I noticed people dressed in rather odd attire... A woman walked by me dressed up as a devil, a couple of teenagers were dressed as rabbits, two children ran by dressed as indians, a guy was dressed as a clown, a group of teenagers were dressed in really bright colors with unmatched clothes and their hair was colored all kinds of shades of pink, green, and red... And they were all dressed like this, heading into work, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to do... Very odd!
2) I walked into the language school where I tutor, and the owners were dressed as a prisoner and a 60's go-go girl...
3) There were children running around everywhere yesterday morning, when they should have been in school... Many of them were dressed as princesses, clowns, Pippi Longstocking, knights, and pirates, and they were all over town. When I asked why they weren't in school, I was informed that they had been "freed by the hexen (witches)"... Apparently, a group of witches goes into the school and "kidnap" all of the teachers and then tie them up in a net in the middle of the school... The hexen then go into all of the classrooms and "release" the children and send them home for the day... As a teacher, I'm traumatized just thinking about all of the chaos that would cause! :) From what I gather, the hexen go into all of the schools in the area to do this... Some of the schools were released yesterday and some are going to be released today... Wow, is all I can say to that! :)
4) Many of the storefronts have signs on the windows saying that they will be closed on certain days throughout the week so that they can celebrate Fasching... Must be nice to just close your business so that you can go to parades and party. :)
5) From what I gather, yesterday was a special "women's day" where women are allowed do whatever they want and dress however they want. Also, if (on this special day) they saw a man wearing a tie, they could go up to him with scissors and cut it off... Interesting.
6) Yesterday, random bands were walking through the streets playing music for no particular reason, other than to make alot of noise...
7) I was kind of bullied by a bunch of German mothers into cancelling my English class next Tuesday... I was informed that a big parade was held on that day and that I should not have class. Me, not being familiar with the culture or with the festival (and also the fact that I'm a teacher and I just can't imagine cancelling a lesson for someone to go to a parade...), said that I would have class and if their kids came to it, then that would be great, but if they didn't, it would be perfectly fine as well... I was then informed that no one would be there and I should just cancel the lesson... After about 10 minutes of having them all try to explain why it's such a special day (the parade is a VERY big deal, I guess?), I finally gave in and cancelled class. (And, for the record, a group of German women arguing their cause, can be a little scary for an outsider! :))
My list could probably go on and on with all of the crazy stuff I've seen and heard this week... It feels sort of like a twisted version of Mardi Gras and Halloween on crack around here lately! :)
Now, can you understand why I'm feeling so completely puzzled? I mean, wouldn't you? :) So, wish me luck this weekend, and hopefully I'll get to the bottom of this whole Fasching festival! I'll keep you posted...
Have a great weekend! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment