Carneval parade 2008

Carneval or Fasnacht dates back to the 10th century and came from Italy to Germany. It simply means the night before the fastening period. It´s mainly a catholic tradition, starting from the 6th January to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday(the day before 40 days of fasting before Easter). It is the time when people are allowed to criticise the church by dressing up in scary masks and costumes. During the introduction to the history of Fasnacht, little did we know that our teacher Elisabeth Diesner had a surprise for us. The class was turned into screams, laughter, amazement and joy by a group of green-leafy carrot wooden creatures. It was one of the most exciting yet unusual experiences I have ever had. On the day of the carneval parade, we all walked to town, it was buzzing of people (about 30 000) of all ages from Tuebingen and the neighbouring towns, some in costumes and paintings. We had our faces painted to match with the crew and soon we were in for 4 hours, well maybe five hours of wooden masks with fur or leaves or cute kittens,horses, witches, music, dancing and everything imaginable and unimaginable. And as usual there were some treats for the audience, SWEETS AND CHOCOLATE. Although our dear Barbara had warned us about losing some stuff, I did not think we could be the victims; well two of us, I included, lost our hair-rings to the Hexe (the witch) and one was stolen twice by the scary creatures. This was something I had not expected or experienced on a carneval but it was the best one ever and everyone had the best time. Vielen Dank to Barbara, Elisabeth and all for allowing us to experience your beautiful tradition.

by Eunice Matladi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Update (24/01/08)