Carnival start
Women’s Wet Night: Carnival participants brave the rain
Carnival participants are completely covered in wet confetti and celebrate the opening of the street carnival in Cologne. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
This time it’s not just raining confetti, but Germany’s carnival goers aren’t letting that dampen their spirits. It may not be as crowded outside as usual, but there is still a celebration.
Crowds smaller due to bad weather
Cologne in particular attracted tens of thousands again, albeit significantly fewer than usual. Police Chief Johannes Hermanns said that from the police’s point of view it remained “completely uneventful” until the afternoon. “The rain probably contributed to that. There aren’t as many people in the city as there were on 11/11 or last year.” Cologne’s mayor Henriette Reker (independent) explained this with the words: “Those who just want to drink just stayed at home.” She didn’t sound unhappy.
As is usual on women’s carnival, women stormed the town halls in many cities and symbolically took power. In Düsseldorf, the “Möhnen” captured Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU), who had disguised himself as a car driver.
This time there was a very special women’s carnival in Bonn-Beuel, where the 200th anniversary of the so-called washerwomen’s uprising was celebrated. In 1824, the Beuel washerwomen turned against patriarchy and the associated exploitation of women and founded a women’s committee. From then on, the women regularly discussed their husbands’ gross violations of domestic peace and marital fidelity at a coffee chat according to fixed rules.
Around 7,000 fools gathered in Mainz, according to the police, fewer than usual. In parts of Baden-Württemberg, the Swabian-Alemannic carnival gained momentum. In Konstanz on Lake Constance, the “Schmotzige Dunschtig” or “Gumpige” Thursday was rung in with music, bells and rattles. At 6:00 a.m. it was time to wake up fools. “School exemptions”, the fool’s tree installation and parades were on the program until the evening. In Bavaria, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had his tie cut off in the State Chancellery on Nonsense Thursday.
Carnival as a mood enhancer
The “fifth season” brightened the mood even under gray skies. “Seriously: If there is only bad news everywhere, why shouldn’t you spread a little cheer?” said Frieda, maiden in the Cologne triumvirate, to the dpa. This gives people strength and support again.
In Cologne, the revelers huddled together, especially in the “Kwartier Latäng” student district around Zülpicher Straße. Around 1,500 police officers, 200 law enforcement officers and more than 1,000 private security guards were on hand to control the rush of party tourists.
For the first time, a prevention campaign was also run under the motto “It’s a dress, not a yes!”: Video clips drew attention to the fact that certain clothing or exuberant partying should not be misunderstood as an invitation for sexual assault. “Keep your hands to yourself,” warns a dancer from the Rote Funken. The police add: “Föttchesföhlers, i.e. gropers, are not welcome!”
Mayor Reker, who was critically injured by a right-wing extremist assassin in 2015, drew a line from the anti-right demonstrations to the carnival. The Cologne Carnival is basically open to everyone – not just the locals, Reker told the dpa. “Diversity is celebrated at Carnival in Cologne. We are integrative, we are inclusive.” But it is not enough to celebrate this diversity; it has to be lived every day.
Carnival President: “Cologne is colorful”
Carnival President Christoph Kuckelkorn emphasized: “Cologne is colorful. We have all nationalities, all religious affiliations, orientations here. Cologne is an area of diversity. Any currents that want to limit this in any way even remotely have no chance at all, and for that we argue. Carnival always stands firmly on the side of democracy.”
Carnival objectors can cite the Nobel Prize winner for literature and Cologne native Heinrich Böll (1917-1985). He said: “I can’t imagine a more terrible duty than the duty of humor.”