THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CARRIE ANSELL, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 71 lines
Carrie Ansell graduated a year early from First Colonial High so that she could spend a year as a foreign exchange student in Germany. She files occasional dispatches from abroad.
WHEN I WAS in the eighth grade, my German teacher tried to explain the time difference between the United States and Germany. One of my fellow students raised her hand and asked, ``You mean the Germans have 36 hours in a day?''
Well, we've stuck with 24 hours here in Germany, but as I recently discovered, Germans have five seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall and Karneval.
In an attempt to describe Karneval (as an American to an American), I will say that Karneval seems like Mardi Gras, but since I've never been to Mardi Gras, I don't know for sure. In one way I know that they are similar - both are self-contained. While Mardi Gras is celebrated primarily in New Orleans, Karneval is celebrated primarily along the Rhine.
Because Horn-Bad Meinberg isn't exactly in that region, I had to travel to Bonn to experience Karneval. I had been invited by the family of the exchange student who lives with my family in America (if you think that's a mouthful, you should try to be the person who has to say it all the time) to visit them during Karneval, and, being no fool, I took them up on the offer.
While I only experienced Karneval for a weekend, it lasts much longer - around five months. It starts on the 11th day of the 11th month (November) at 11:11 a.m. Don't ask me why. Nobody was able to explain it to me either.
As it so happens, people were able to explain precious little about Karneval in general. I must have asked at least 20 people about the origins of Karneval, and the only answer that I ever got was a general, ``Well, I think it's some pagan festival, but I'm not really sure.''
The general public's ignorance concerning the origins of Karneval didn't stop them from enjoying the fun. The first night that I was in Bonn, I went to a huge Karneval party. Wow! Everyone from my age to retirement age was there, dressed up in crazy costumes and having a great time. There was even a huge slide on stage that you could slide down onto the dance floor.
Another interesting discovery for me was Kolsch, which is either the dialect of the inhabitants of Cologne and along the Rhine in general, or a beer, depending on where you place the emphasis. As it so happened, both played a big role in my comprehension of Karneval.
At the party on Friday, the festival prince and the princess gave speeches in Kolsch. With a little effort, I could understand what they were saying, and when a friend asked me if I understood, I said, ``yes.''
``Really,'' he said. ``I've lived here my entire life and I don't understand a word.'' Once the Kolsch beer came into play, I would agree with my friend. The people were slurring in a dialect that is difficult to begin with, making it impossible to understand!
Karneval is not just an occasion to drink beer though. It's also an occasion to act crazy and make a fool of yourself (although beer can definitely assist in that.) That Monday, I went to Cologne to see the Rosenmontagzug (Rose Monday Parade). I had never seen a parade like that before in my entire life or a city so full of people with one and the same ambition: having fun. I watched the parade for five hours and it was still going on when I had to leave on my train to head back home.
Right before I left, though, I saw a funny sight. While standing on the steps of the train station eating a bratwurst, I saw a man dressed in suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, working his way through the crowd. He looked as though he'd been dropped from another planet and didn't quite know what to make of it all. A businessman is a regular sight in Cologne, but during Karneval it's an absolute exception. Karneval is a party, and Germans take their partying very seriously. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Carrie Ansell by CNB