Yes I know, I am dragging this out a bit, but there is not much happening in my life right now. Unless you count me getting my Proof of Good Behaviour already! Liking that very much. Anyway, back to carnaval.
Let's get some historic and religious context here. Originally it was a pagan feast, celebrated as early as 5,000 years ago by the Mesopotamians. The Egyptians, the Romans, basically everybody had a feast where the boundaries between owner and slave were down, where the slave could dress like the owner and even make fun of him. Usually this feast was between the winter solstice and the winter equinox (ie December and March).
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| Herman Brood (bread) was a musician and artist from Zwolle |
When the church entered the arena and they started converting all those pagan peoples, several feasts were kept to not alienate the new Christians. One of them being this New Year's or Midwinter feast. It would however get a more Christian context.
According to the Bible, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the dessert, before he was eventually taken from his disciples and died on the cross. There had not been something to mark the beginning of the fasting period before, but now there was!
The basics were still the same: dress up or down, make fun of your 'betters', eat and drink. But now, instead of celebrating the coming of spring, it would announce the coming of the fasting period. It would start on the Sunday and finish on Shrove Tuesday. Three days of painting the town red. Then from Ash Wednesday, the fasting would start.
When the Reformation started in Europe, most countries (even the ones that remained Catholic) abolished carnaval, but in the years that followed some have taken it up again. It is celebrated all over the world, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro being the most famous ones of course.
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| Confetti |
So, enough school mistress today. I hope you enjoyed the remaining photos and little films I had.
The Germans are also mad of Carnaval, especially in Düsselsdorf, Köln and Mainz. It's even transmitted directly on TV the one of Kôln and Mainz. It starts on Thursday until Tuesday included. I celebrated always and went back to Bonn. Loved it, but then after marriage, baby etc now I nearly missed carnival, I saw it on TV !
ReplyDeleteI am sitting in a 100 % catholic country ! But with all the scandals in the last years, the churches are nearly empty only older people are still going to church and here in Waterloo the priests are all black no white one want to become a priest in this oldfashioned religion.
The pagans were a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteWEll of course you passed your Good Behavior. I had no idea all the hoops one had to jump through in different countries.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the carnaval!
Hugs Cecilia
That's some interesting history. Thanks for telling us about it. We enjoy stuff like that!
ReplyDeleteI aim to please :)
DeleteGlad you got your proof of behavior.
ReplyDeleteI like that you shared the carnaval. I've enjoyed seeing all of the elaborate costumes.
Congrats on the good behavior. Now it is time to party! Well, you probably have only a few hours left before lent starts. Make it count.
ReplyDeleteWe did party a bit. With...
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteSydney - it's carnivale is the first weekend of March too! However, I doubt it is Lent related - more about '...pride' and colours, y'know. YAM xx
Same with the Notting Hill festival, which is very carnavalesque as well: takes place in the middle of the summer!
DeleteI work for a German company and a lot of our German counterparts are on vacation during this time :-)
ReplyDeleteThey have really taken it to heart those Germans! You can't watch German television these days for all the 'funniness' and such!
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