ho narro!

In Swabian and Alemannian part of Germany,
the street carnival begins on the January 6th
(the guilds start on 11/11 at 11:11 am).
It's called Fasnet or Fasnacht.
Time for all Narren (carnival revelers)
to put on their costumes.
There are parties held on many places.

The highlight is on Schmutzige Dunnstig -
the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.
It starts very early in the morning,
when the fanfares go around the blocks
to wake people up with their music.
Later on at school the children are released
by the Narren - the holiday begins.
The Narren also take over the city hall.
The Narrenbaum is set in the afternoon
(the taller the better ;-)) and there is
the Hemdglonkerumzug in the evening,
where (traditionally) kids in white nightgowns
hobbling around the blocks, making loud noices
using pans and other household instruments.

On Saturday there's a Fasnet market
in the city, where the music plays and
jokes are told on the stage, while people
can play games in the booth and
buy some foods or drinks.
We were there to hear music this time - fun!
We've seen groups of older people -
some in very creative costumes.
I was really impressed!!



The great carnival procession in Constance
is always held on Sunday.
Many participants come from other cities too -
even neighbor cities from the Switzerland
(they have carnival some days later than us).
I was not always in the mood of Fasnet,
but this time I went to the procession.

I love the music and love looking at the masks,
while kids love the candies :-)
The Narrenruf in Constance is "Ho Narro!".
So if the Narren call "Ho", we answer "Narro".
The kids learned fast, that the Narren will throw
extra candies, if they call "Ho Narro!".
Some Narren have also something for adults -
schnapps!! But some have only confetti to spend
and teenagers are often victims of their jests.
Here are some snap shots of the procession.
I must admit, my camera and I are not the best
in taking active photos :-P If you click on the photos,
you can view them bigger on Flickr and I've put
some notes on the photos too.







And as the procession was over, people were
leaving very quickly, as it was getting very cold.
Only the junk left...


But Fasnet is still not over!!
In many other cities there will be
great processions on Monday
- it's called Rosenmontag.
Here in Constance there are some
balls for children.
Well, I'll spend the Monday with packing,
since the shop where I help out sometimes
is moving to a bigger one :-)
But on Tuesday my son and I will go to
the city again to watch the Kaerellerennen
- a wagon competition for kids.
So, maybe I'll be back with some more photos :-)