Fasching Begins TODAY, 11-11-05, at 11 minutes after 11 PM

Heute beginnt Fasching! WOOHOO!

Fasching begins TODAY!

Germany, Austria and German-Switzerlands version of Carnival, Halloween, and Mardi Gras, all rolled into one. Wedding Rings come off, and anything goes!

Germans call the pre-Lenten Carnival season die närrische Saison ("the foolish season") or die fünfte Jahreszeit ("the fifth season"). Except for Munich's Oktoberfest, it is the one time of year when many normally staid Germans (and Austrians and Swiss) loosen up and go a little crazy. Fastnacht or Karneval is a "movable feast" (ein beweglicher Festtag) that depends on the date of Easter (Ostern). In 2005 Fastnacht falls on February 8 (Faschingsdienstag). The official start of the Fasching season is either January 7 (the day after Ephiphany, Dreikönige) or the 11th day of the 11th month (Elfter im Elften, Nov. 11), depending on the region. That gives the Carnival guilds (Zünfte) three to four months to organize each year's events (Carnival balls, parades, royalty, etc.) leading up to the big bash in the week before Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch), when the Lenten season (die Fastenzeit) begins.

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Updated On: 11/11/05 at 05:15 PM

it's so much fun........I went to way too many Fasching events when I lived in Germany.....

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you got a deal Yessica......make mine Moniger, or St' Pauli Girl....and let's sing, shall we?

Columbus fand Amerika,
ein neuer Erdteil ward entdeckt,
was Marco Polo alles sah,
wurd' dann von der Kultur beleckt.
Sven Hedin war am Himalaya,
er schritt durch heißen Wüstensand.
Am Nordpol stand Amundsens Heija,
doch uns hat keiner je zuvor gekannt:

and

Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier,
Drum trinken wir es hier.
Denn sind wir nicht mehr hier,
Dann trinken die andern unser Bier.

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not in a long time.......I miss Germany

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