Customs - Music and "Schwellköppe": Thousands kick off the carnival season
Thousands celebrated the start of the carnival season in Mainz on New Year's Day with a colorful parade. According to the organizers, around 1,200 guardsmen and dragoons as well as around 450 musicians and the "Schwellköppe", oversized papier-mâché heads, paraded through the streets of the carnival stronghold on the Rhine in pleasant weather. The carnival season officially begins in the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital on January 1.
"The start of the campaign is not only marked by carnival music, a hearty cheers to the New Year and countless Helaus," promised the President of the Mainz Carnival Association (MCV), Hannsgeorg Schönig, "but we also offer every hungry and thirsty person plenty of opportunity to fortify themselves." The first day of 2024 also marked the start of sales of the special golden edition of this year's parade badge.
The highlight in Mainz will once again be the Rose Monday parade on February 12. The carnival motto for the 2024 carnival campaign is "Mainz on the Rhine invites the whole world to the Schoppe". The uniforms of the carnival guards were once created as a satirical response to the military, which played a dominant role in the garrison city of Mainz in the 19th century.
Read also:
- Floods: water levels remain critical in many places
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- Continuous operation in the flood areas
- Flood situation remains tense in many places
- The Rhine, famously known as a carnival stronghold, serves as the backdrop for the extravagant Rose Monday parade in Rhineland-Palatinate's state capital, Mainz.
- To keep the festivities going throughout the carnival season, Germany's burgeoning music scene often integrates traditional carnival tunes with contemporary rhythms, appealing to both locals and tourists alike.
- As Rhine's New Year celebrations draw to a close, the city of Mainz prepares to host numerous events during Carnival, including elaborate performances by its marching musicians and quirky "Schwellköppe" characters.
- To commemorate a successful Carnival season in Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate, locals and visitors are encouraged to celebrate in Style by purchasing the special golden edition of the parade badge, a cherished souvenir from the New Year's Day festivities near the Rhine.
Source: www.stern.de
