Carnival in the corona crisis: "There will be no swaying"

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Carnivalist in the Rhineland: Snogging and singing are rather problematic in the Corona period

SPIEGEL: Ms. Harder, we are in the middle of a pandemic - and the people of the Rhineland are preparing a big festival. How are the preparations for the session in Beuel going?

Ina Harder: At the moment we are still planning everything reasonably normally. We have chosen a motto, commissioned the carnival medals and the dress for the washer princess is currently being made. We are rehearsing for our performances and hope that Carnival can take place, albeit in a different version this time. After all, Carnival isn't just a big party for us.

SPIEGEL: But?

Harder: We women here in Beuel have been celebrating Weiberfastnacht on the Thursday before Rose Monday since 1824. It all started with a coffee party that the laundresses held while their husbands drove to Cologne and celebrated Carnival. Today we not only celebrate, but also visit old people's homes, hospitals and kindergartens to report on this tradition. This is not currently the case, but you can definitely think about something and meet outdoors, for example. If in doubt, the customs can also be cultivated without a street carnival.

SPIEGEL: Health Minister Jens Spahn is said to have said that he "couldn't imagine" the next Carnival season. So you already?

Harder: If we think back a little, yes. In the last few years the carnival was always about "more, higher, further". But you can also spend an afternoon together under Corona conditions, let your work rest and distract yourself from everyday life. Then maybe only 50 women can sit together in one room.

SPIEGEL: But you are also planning a major meeting in January 2021?

Harder: Yes, our so-called girls' meeting with 1200 women. It has long been sold out. The program is completely financed by the entrance fees, so you couldn't reduce the number of guests either. Maybe we have to postpone it for a year, but maybe it works somehow.

SPIEGEL: In Heinsberg, it was probably a carnival session that made this region a corona hotspot in spring. How can you celebrate in an enclosed space with so many people?

Harder: Of course only with an appropriate concept. Perhaps one can think about ways that lead like one-way streets in and out of the hall. There are now many requirements, for example that glasses must be washed at at least 60 degrees.

SPIEGEL: But doesn't carnival also include loud singing, which contributes to the spread of the virus?

Harder: Actually yes. But that doesn't work, just like the many kissing. There will be no swaying either. Maybe we need to plan more speeches and less music. In general, I believe: With a little respect and caution, you can celebrate together. However, I don't want to downplay the virus, on the contrary. We are affected in our circle of friends, I know perfectly well what this is about.

"I have applications until 2025"

SPIEGEL: You yourself were also Beuel's washer princess and carnival princess in Bonn. How does it have to be when after years of waiting and hoping you finally become a princess - and then carnival is canceled that year?

Harder: We discussed this for a long time with the young woman who will be our future princess. It may be that she only gets a little bit of carnival, maybe not a real one. But she still wants to do it, it's a unique opportunity after all. I have applications for this office until 2025.

SPIEGEL: If the entire carnival should be canceled, it could be very expensive for the revelers, right?

Harder: Of course. To give just one example: the princess' dress alone costs a four-figure sum. And the income of many people depends on carnival, from the toilet lady to the artists on the stage. I am a restaurateur myself and run a corner bar, which is usually used to celebrate after the events. We live from carnival, among other things.

SPIEGEL: At the moment, however, a tightly packed pub carnival is certainly not imaginable.

Harder: Of course not. The weddings and birthday parties have also been canceled. There is also existential fear, but you cannot jeopardize people's health. We just can't celebrate the way we used to, so we restaurateurs have to take care of security a bit. But there should be more basement parties again.

SPIEGEL: What kind of basement parties?

Harder: Well, in your own party room. When you think back to the seventies, after the street carnival people just kept partying in a small group at home.

"I don't want to swap with Armin Laschet now"

SPIEGEL: On Weiberfastnacht you traditionally conquer the town hall in Beuel together with the other women, send the politicians away and take over the direction. What would you decide for the upcoming session if you really had the say politically?

Harder: Good question. The best thing to do is to just try to find a middle ground that everyone can live with. But no matter what you decide, there will always be critics who have something to complain about. In any case, I don't want to swap with an Armin Laschet now, even if the topic is of course well suited to the election campaign.

SPIEGEL: In many places, the insistence on the carnival should shake heads. Outside of the carnival strongholds, many cannot imagine why the whole thing is such a big topic.

Harder: Likewise, there are probably carnivalists who cannot imagine that the next soccer game will be such a big topic. Everyone is different.