All throughout this month, Germany celebrates the coming of Spring, by "scaring" away the winter. This is done at large festivals of fire, music, and people dressed in scary costumes. There are parades in small towns throughout Germany to celebrate.
I will point out some differences between these parades and other parades I have attended.
Last Sunday, there was a large parade in our town that lasted for 5 hours. Before leaving, we dressed up a little, preparing for a "Carnival" experience, but it was nothing like "Carnival."
This is what it looked like outside our front door.
The parade consisted of groups dressed in very scary costumes to scare away the winter. They would dance, chant, scream. They would even "kidnap" children in the audience and run with them down the parade route. They would cover you with paint, throw glitter on you, try to surprise you with screams. If I were a child, I would be tormented by the parade! Adults of course loved it.
They pass out candy to children and small bottles of liquor to adults. Damian got some liquor from one of them after they covered him with shredded paper.
The masks are pieces of art and some of them are hundreds of years old.
I was even frightened by some of them so I hide behind people in the crowd so they wouldn't come after me.
I want to point out that there was plenty of drinking going on, but, unlike the South Side Irish Parade where people walk around with red Solo Dixie cups, the Germans walk around with glass pints!