Karneval
German Classes celebrate Karneval
by Candice Evenhouse
February 08, 2008
Princeton's German classes celebrated Karneval/Fasching in class on Tuesday, February 5, Faschingsdienstag. Karneval technically begins on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. and is referred to as the fifth season. The celebration itself dates back to the 14th century. One of the largest celebrations is in Köln. Celebrations include parades (where every Karneval Klub has a different hat), Sitzungen (funny speeches), eating lots of good German food, and costume balls.
While we left the parades to those in Germany, we did enjoy good German food, and some people made masks or gave speeches. Traditionally, a prince and princess are chosen to reside over the festivities, and a few days before Aschermittwoch the prince receives a key to the city. German classes elected their own princes and princesses of Karneval. Block 1 elected Alex/Wolfgang as Prinz and Nicole/Elke as Prinzessin; Block 2, Ryan/Axel as Prinz and Sam/Meike as Prinzessin; and Block 4, Kolton/Ralf and Vaughn/Otto. What a fun day!
