The Christian sense of Carnival

In the Christian sense, carnival is the eve of Lent. For one last time people can gorge and dance before the six meager weeks begin. The fact that carnival cus­toms are practiced especially in Catholic regions is witness to the fact that these festivities are of religious origin.

There are many names for carnival in the German language. The words fasching and faschang were first recorded in Bavaria in 1203 and 1283 respectively. The word karneval on the other hand came to Germany via Italy around 1700. There are different theories as to its origin. A con­vincing one is the Latin word vale, mean­ing “flesh, farewell", in reference to the beginning of the meatless weeks of fasting. Others claim it was derived from the Latin carrus navalis, which means sea wagon. Such a vehicle was used, according to the legend, by the goddesses of spring and fertility to float through the air and over the water. Wagons still play an important role in carnival parades in which they are splendidly decorated.

The Cologne carnival is probably the best known carnival celebration. It looks back onto an eventful history, reaching all the way back to the medieval guilds. Co­logne had been a free Reichsstadt since 1385. (This means it received its charters directly from the empire and was rep­resented in the diets.) The self-confident and wealthy citizens of this town always had the urge to satirize and deflate the overly powerful clergy.

Journeymen and apprentices roamed the streets in disguise during the Middle Ages, accosting people and asking for donations. In the 16th century, during the Reformation, the religious reformers fought carnival customs, arguing that they had lost their meaning after the abolition of Lenten fasting.

Carnival, however, continued to live. The "muuzemandels" are baked on Maundy Thursday, in the week before Shrove Tuesday. Those are deep-fried al­mond-shaped cakes. The houses of reli­gious orders, especially convents, were al­ways among those who celebrated heartily and contributed fine baking recipes.

The Jesuits soon began calling for an end to such "excess" and "impudence" in the religious orders. Then there were wars, which depressed the people. Fes­tivities could not resume until after 1648, with the end of the 30 Years War. Shortly afterwards, in 1657, the celebra­tions were once more forbidden. During the 17th and 18th centuries many Italian carnival customs influenced Cologne's

own traditions; But then, in the 18th cen­tury, the guilds once again began playing the main role, in this very distinct street carnival.