ColognecarnivalAlso known as "the fifth season"GermanyThe biggest carnival, which opens at 11:11 on November 11 every year in the old square of Cologne, is second only toBrazil Carnival 。The main participating cities areCologne，Dusseldorf。
People all over the world like to spend a good time together at festivals or celebrations, and Carnival is the best time to celebrate various seasons or events.Cologne Carnival is the most lively carnival in Germany.
The protagonists of Cologne Carnival are clowns and maniacs. During the festival, there are people in strange clothes everywhere. Everyone is immersed in joy, and all stores will close at this time.The parade is festivePlayEvery year, many people will watch the parade on both sides of the road and get the candies scattered in the procession.The Cologne Carnival lasted until February of the following year.[1-2]
Carnivals in German speaking areas can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when there were wild and uninhibited parades, which can be said to be the predecessor of modern carnivals.In the last 200 years, carnivals in German areas have gradually become standardized and large-scale, andRepresentativenessCologne Carnival began in 1823, marked by the appearance of floats parade.
The carnival in Germany is divided into several regions from north to south, each with its own advantages.Two of them are the most distinctive and influential.One is based on Cologne, DusseldorfMainz andAachenThe Rhine region in western Germany represented by, and the southern Germany represented by Rottwell and FellingenBoden LakeRegion.The names of carnivals in the north and south are also different. The carnival in the north is also called "Carnival", while the carnival in the south is called "Carnival"“maslenitsa ”。[3]The carnival in western Germany originated fromash wednesday It has a history of thousands of years, celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of spring.In Germany, it is the second most important festival after Christmas.During the festival, there are large parades and celebrations, and the carnival lasts for a week.
Mother and daughter at carnival[2]
The history of Cologne Carnival is almost the same asCologne Has a long history.ancient GreekPeople andAncient RomeDuring the happy Spring Festival, people used wine, women and singing to pay homage to Bacchus and the ancient Romangod of agriculture。GermanicPeople worship God by celebrating the winter solstice, and drive away the evil winter devil.Later Christians inherited this pagan custom.With the beginning of CarnivallentThe curtain was drawn up.
In the Middle Ages, the joy of carnival, namely "masquerade parade", was often expressed in a very violent form, which made the city government and the church very angry.The ban and decree had little effect. People still went their own way and celebrated the festival crazily and happily.
In the 18th centurycarnivalAccompanied byVeniceThe so-called mode“Masquerade ball”。Hilarious masks and masquerade balls, but at first only for aristocrats and wealthyCitizen class。In 1736, Cologne held the first "masquerade ball" in the noble palace next to the new market.Nearly 50 years later, Cologne wasFrench RevolutionOccupied by the army.However, the new rulers allowed local people to hold their drunken parades.The Prussians who soon ruled the land were more strict, but they could not stop the Cologne people from continuing their obsessed tradition.Carnival has gradually become more romantic and civic.It becomes somewhat restrained and pays attention to order.[2]
Time
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Cologne Carnival
As usual, the carnival will kick off at 11:11 on November 11, local time in Germany, and continue until the end of February of the next year toCologne，Dusseldorf，Mainz Since then, several major cities have entered the "fifth season" of each year. During this period, each city will hold a series of wonderful activities, but the climax of the festival is generally at the end of January to the end of February, just close to the Chinese Lunar New Year.Many cities in Germany hold carnivals, but the most prestigious and grand carnival celebrations are in Cologne and Dusseldorf, two neighboring cities.[2]
Carnival logo
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Cologne Carnival also followsBrazilRio de Janeiro CarnivalAfter that, the second largest carnival in the world, millions of tourists will come here to hold a grand party every year.stayRose MondayEvery year, tens of thousands of tons of candy and flowers are scattered from the floats, and in recent years, there are many Chinese people in the carnival crowd.
Cologne Carnival
When it comes to the Cologne Carnival, we have to mention the three iconic characters of the Carnival: "prince", "farmer" and "girl", who play a pivotal role in the whole Carnival.They got it through the audition in the whole city. After a year of various talent training, the most important thing is to be able to speak the standard local dialect of Cologne, because they will attend various major events during the carnival and give speeches and performances. When speaking, they must speak the exact language of Cologne.In the audition, three men will be selected to play the adult version of "prince, farmer and girl", and three children will be selected to play these roles respectivelyCharacter imageIt needs to be explained that although one of the characters is a "girl", because of historical reasons, women could not take the stage when creating the character image at that time, so the adult version of the "girl" character has always been played by men. This tradition has remained until now. The difference is that the children's version of the "girl" is played by girls.
At the beginning of January every year, the "prince, farmer and girl" elected in that year will comecity hall
carnival[2]
Meet the mayor, hold a grand ceremony, and announce that theLeadershipObtained by the "prince" until the end of the carnival"Prince'sAscension Ceremony”The beginning of the event also means that Cologne falls into the carnival of the whole city.In Rose Monday's float parade, the prince's float is the largest and always the last, which means the end of the float parade.
Cologne has 160 carnival associations, hometown associations and urban communities.They organized about 500 events, dances and parades to celebrate the city's craziest festivals.[2]
Here we are“Rose Monday”In the morning, the parade representing the climax of the carnival officially began.People drink in groupsBeer, pullaccordion, wearing colorful clothes and strange masks, walking happily in the street.The police on the roadside also changed their dignity and let the girls draw colorful lip prints on their faces.In the vast parade, there are thousands of performance teams. Each square array has its own band, floats and unique clothing, which makes people dizzy.There are various models on the float, many of which are leaders of various countries today,Bush, PutinSaddam HusseinAnd Osama bin Laden are often chosen as objects of ridicule.When the float was moving, thousands of spectators shouted "Give me sugar"Chocolates、candyAnd countless flowers fell from the float like raindrops.The children hung a large cloth bag on their chest and tried hard to pick up sugar on the ground, while the adults jumped up to intercept large pieces of chocolate from the air.Some people simply hold an umbrella or a hat upside down, and soon they have returned with a full load.The carnival lasted for five hours. The German, who was usually strict, finally became crazy on this day.
The total length of the parade route of Cologne Carnival is 7 kilometers, and the length of the procession is 6.5 kilometers.In other words, people, cars and horses were filled from the beginning to the end of the parade route.Although the total time of the parade is 5 hours, the audience usually arrived at the scene 2 or 3 hours in advance in order to occupy a good position.Therefore, in February, which is still chilly in spring, it is not easy to watch the carnival at the open-air station for 7 or 8 hours. What's more, many people do not disperse immediately after the parade, but want to participate in the open-air carnival dance, dance in the bar or wander in the street in the crowd until midnight.[4]
Carnival slogan
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Long live Cologne, which is the slogan used every year in the carnival, and is shouted at the beginning of the carnival on time.Its climax is the fool's moment of carnival parade on Monday before Lent.At this time, people shouted "Cologne stands up", "sugar", "flowers".In this lively and extraordinary activity, people cheered and indulged,RhineBoth sides are full of songs and laughter.[5]
Women's Carnival
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Cut necktie for women's carnival
The official start of the women's carnival is a sign of the climax of the carnival.On“Women's Day”German women who are usually solemn and elegant are likeVolcano eruptionLike to vent their feelings heartily.They rushed into the city hall in groups, broke into the mayor's office, and sat in the mayor's officeOffice chairThe city government was announced to take over.The most scary thing for men on this day is that they are afraid that women will cut their ties.On that day, if you wear a famous brand tie, don't go out.GermanyGirlsAt night, they would turn around in groups with scissors in the street, and cut the man's tie in the middle of pushing and pushing.The airports around Cologne were hung with cut ties that day.But there are also many men who deliberately buy some broken or even paper ties and go to the street to get the taste of flirting with young girls.[2]
The end of the festival
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At midnight the next day, that isTuesdayThe carnival is drawing to a close at midnight.People take off and hang in restaurants andtavernThe binding figure on the door, representing the carnival, burned it and announced its entry“ash wednesday ”, proclaiming the complete end of the carnival.[3]
Whether Cologne Carnival will eventually becomecultural heritage, which will not be officially determined until 2016.An official of UNESCO said: "There is no reason to oppose its becoming a cultural heritage. Moreover,Brazil Carnival It has long been a cultural heritage. "
International popularity is one of the important criteria for UNESCO to measure whether it can constitute a cultural heritage.[1]
Social evaluation
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Cologne Carnival is considered as the wholeGermanyThe biggest and craziest carnival.In order to commemorate and welcome the comingLentQuit and join in the carnival.In the past, people wore masks to parade in the streets in order to drive the evil spirits out of the city in winter, but this practice has been preserved.[1]
Germans give the impression that they are unsmiling, rigid and difficult to approach.Carnival happens to happen on people with such personality traits, which seems out of place and unreasonable.In fact, this is not surprising.It is this psychological contrast that reflects the multifaceted nature of Germans and their psychological needs for self release.[3]
Cologne Carnival [3]
From a regional perspective, the Rhine region and the Bavarian region in the south of Germany are still the regions where Catholicism is still prevalent, and the people here are indeed more rigid and difficult to approach than those in other regions of Germany.That is why people need more opportunities and forms like carnival to do anything they want boldly and casually: make noise, indulge in drinking, singing and dancing, kiss people who are unfamiliar or unknown when they are interested, break interpersonal and hierarchical boundaries, ridicule current politics, hide their true selves under strange clothes or masks, and so on,All these are things that they cannot do and are not allowed to do.Only at this time can they completely release their mood, release themselves, and seekPsychological balance。Therefore, when the carnival comes, people are elated;When the carnival ended, most people were tired after several days of carnival, but they were still looking forward to the early arrival of the next carnival.[3]
