Thursday, February 9, 2012

Current event Karneval

Karneval is the equivalent to Mardi gras in the United States. It’s a huge celebration held in which there is partying drinking and just acting silly. There are many floats which show comical versions of import people on them. Though it is now more sort of a religious holiday it didn’t start off that way. Ancient civilizations such as the Romans and Egyptians celebrated it after the harvest in December. Later on in the middle ages it was performed to create a great crop yield. In the past the church had rejected it and called it pagan but it continued so the churched adapted is so it became a time of self-indulgence before lent in which the church dictates you are supposed to make sacrifices. This tradition of dressing up and partying is shared with the United States in the city of New Orleans which is famous for Mardi Gras. However I was surprised to see that there are guild, clubs and even special days set up for major events. Were it seems the United States version is just a bunch of partying and nudity. The floats that I think will appear this year would be Germanys Prime Minister Angela Merkel and other high office officials. Overall it’s interesting to see just how much Karneval has changed since its original start in ancient civilizations.

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1 comment:

  1. I like your Fairy Tale float picture. (I am not a big fan of clowns.) I think the floats that make fun of the past events are a more positive way of expressing one's feelings towards an unhappy/unappealing event or issue.

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