the session begins!
since this blog is called “sleepless in cologne” and i am sleepless right now i figured i might as well write something about cologne for a change.
right now (yes, i timestamped this post to make sure i’m on time), on the 11.11. at 11:11 a.m., the “session” begins, the cologne carnival season also called the “fifth season”, cumulating slowly but surely towards the street carnival weekend that takes place just before lent, the forty day fasting period before easter (actually lent is a 46 day period, but the six sundays are not fast days, so they don’t count).
let me tell you, carnival in cologne is something incredibly complex and complicated and very basic at the same time.
i have no idea why the carnival season has to begin three months before the actual date, but it does. there is a grand opening in one of the larger inner city squares and there is much celebration and ritual beer drinking, costume-wearing and overall jollyness. the sessions only start after the quiet christmas time, and there are men’s sessions, ladies’ sessions, costume sessions and pageant sessions, whatever all this is about, it all takes place mostly behind closed doors within the numerous carnival clubs with maybe a few invited guests.
the “crazy days” begin on thursday before lent, and on that day women reign. costumes are obligatory, beer is drunk, and it is a tradition that women are free to cut off men’s neckties (apparantly being a symbol of men’s dominancy), but compensate for this with a kiss. this kiss needs to be explained, too — the typical cologne carnival “bützchen” is a quick peck on the mouth or cheek with pursed lips, not a slobbery wet kiss and it does not suggest any sexual implications but is merely a traditional gesture. so after that affair with the neckties and kisses everyone proceeds to party and drink until late into the night.
not that it stops there, the party just goes on over the weekend and comes to a climax on the following monday, “rosenmontag” (rose monday).
until then there are many other things to attend, on saturday there is the night “ghost procession”, a relatively new tradition that was born in 1991 when the carnival festivities had been called off because of the gulf war. an anti-gulf-war demonstration seems to have turned into a little carnival procession of its own, and thus the ghost procession was born and has become an annual event within the carnival, often displaying the most phantastical and bizarre costumes. its motto is chosen each year considering controversial political topics, but it still has an element of anarchy and demonstration. it seems there have already been ghost processions in the 19th century, but those were forbidden during world war I.
on sunday there are the processions of the local schools and districts throughout town, already attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. the best groups and floats are selected to take part in the rose monday procession. remember, during all this there is continuous singing, kissing and beer drinking, going on long after the processions have ended and people have flocked into the local pubs, beer houses and party tents.
then on rose monday the huge carnival procession featuring the nominated carnival trinity, the prince, maiden and peasant, takes place. participants try to outdo themselves and each other every year creating their costumes and decorated floats that are often themed to topical events or political affairs. dozens and dozens of marching bands, hundreds of horses, thousands of dancers all parade through the inner city in a procession that winds through the inner city. tons of candies and flowers are thrown off the floats to a million visitors watching, singing, kissing and drinking beer in unrestrained merriness.
needless to say the city is closed for traffic on that weekend. and not just for traffic — if you need to buy something during carnival, just forget it. all the shops are closed, because of course the people who work there are out singing, kissing etcetera.
one more word about the singing — of course you can’t just go out there and sing your favorite beatles tunes. cologne carnival has its own music, all sung in the cologne dialect, its own music industry that produces new carnival top hits every year, and its own fans who are happy to sing along every single note of every single song, often knowing their hits by heart before the crazy days begin. not to everyone’s liking, i’m sure, but the colognians love their very own colognian stuff. even the beer is from cologne. i decline to comment on the beer.
so, after the big hype of rose monday there is usually more, maybe a little less wild partying and merriment on tuesday before the carnival finally comes to a shuddering halt on ash wednesday. on tuesday night there is the traditional burning of the “nubbel”, a live-sized dressed-up straw doll that is raised above the doors of many pubs throughout cologne during the season. the nubbel is the scapegoat that is held responsible for all the sins committed during the carnival season, like drinking too much, spending too much money, and adultery. he is burned by every pub separately with their guests, mostly at midnight and always with a lot of insults and abuse from the bystanders and of course singing and beer drinking.
ash wednesday, finally, is dedicated to nurturing your hangover with fish and pickles and other typical hangover dishes offered by restaurants and pubs in cologne for that occasion, and maybe a few more beers, but people know they really shouldn’t because it’s the beginning of lent. so, i guess that’s all i know and have to say about carnival in cologne, it was exhausting enough.
oh yes, you ask me, this all accounts for carnival in cologne being incredibly complex and complicated, but what’s so basic about it? i’ll tell you. it’s all about getting drunk and getting laid.
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