Fasching (Mardi Gras) Season

In case you haven't heard, Europe has been experiencing a deep freeze for the past several weeks. Temperatures here in Burghausen have been below zero degrees Celsius for about a 3 weeks. Biking to work and school has been pretty darn cold, but at least we finally had some snow that has stayed on the ground. Burghausen certainly knows how to handle even a minor snowfall by thoroughly plowing and salting the sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads. After all we are near the region of the Salzkammergut in Austria. The name means "Estate of the Salt Chamber" and derives from the Imperial Salt Chamber, the authority charged with running the salt mines of the Habsburg empire. So there's plenty of salt around here. Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about.

Today, I want to talk about Fasching! or Mardi Gras as we call it in the States. Most folks associate Mardi Gras only with New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro, but the Catholic areas of Germany also celebrate Fasching in style, Cologne is particularly well known for its Fasching celebrations. In Bavaria, and particularly where we lived years ago in Regensburg, Fasching is celebrated with gusto. From mid-January through to Ash Wednesday, there are costume parties and balls of all kinds on almost every weekend, peaking on Faschingmontag with most pubs in the town hosting all night parties, followed by Faschingsdienstag or Fat Tuesday, which is a wee bit more staid since the bars have to shut down at Midnight. I'm sure the purpose of this celebration is to get us all through the cold dark days of winter and to give observant Catholics a last hurrah before the season of Lent. In the end, what better way to fight cabin fever than to get dressed up and go to parties every weekend, not that I do that any more. But I certainly had my share of Fasching all-nighters, replete with white wurst breakfasts at 6:00 a.m.

I will also mention that the Thursday before Ash Wednesday here is called Weiberfasching or Ladies Fasching. And beware those gentlemen who wear their best ties to work on that day. It is tradition in the workplace, especially banks, for the ladies to cut the gentlemen's ties (so very pagan, I think). I remember walking into the bank each year on Weiberfasching, noticing the ties, and thinking, Ah, Weiberfasching.

There are also Fasching events for children, for example, Ronan's school is having a Fasching party tomorrow. He's even going to wear a costume, he'll be dressed as a Ninja. Ronan never dresses up, he's never even gone trick or treating because he doesn't like to dress up. But he's got costume fever this year. Sorry, I can't show you photos because he doesn't want photos of him in costume going up on Facebook. Smart boy!

So, wherever you are, why not fight off those winter blues by heading off to a mardi gras celebration near you or hosting your own Mardi Gras party! It may not be as wild and crazy as in these parts, but it will take you out of hibernation mode and remind you that you probably have friends out there you haven't seen in a while! Give them a call!