Carnival session in Bavaria written off - "Very sad year"

Created: 02/20/2022, 08:55

By: Katarina Amtmann

The carnival season in Bavaria is written off.

(Archive image) © Michael Reichel/dpa/dpa-Bilfunk

The third Corona year puts a spoke in the wheel for the fools, the carnival falls flat again in many places in Bavaria.

There is frustration.

Munich – The carnival falls flat again this year in many places: Omikron and Co annoy the fools, instead of a happy and humid mood there is frustration.

The cancellation of the traditional parades and meetings in the carnival strongholds is not only a bitter loss for the die-hards.

Omikron prevents carnival parties in Bavaria: "a second very sad year for all carnival fans"

Omicron stands in the way of the party.

While the fools at the start of the "Fifth Season" on November 11th, 2021 were still confident about the upcoming pompous meetings and the street carnival, the record infection numbers in the third Corona year put an abrupt end to the foolish goings-on.

Franconia is considered a stronghold of foolishness in Bavaria.

In non-Corona years, hundreds of thousands of spectators come to the carnival parades in Nuremberg, Bayreuth and Bamberg, for example.

As in many places, the largest carnival parade in southern Germany "right of the Rhine", according to the self-promotion, is canceled in Würzburg.

Normally, up to 100,000 people watch the colorful spectacle.

"It is a second very sad year for all carnivalists, because the fifth season cannot go nearly as well as it did for many years," says the spokesman for the 1st Carnival Society Elferrat Würzburg, Kay-Horst Dempewolf.

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Corona prevents carnival time: Extremely stressful for clubs

For months, the Tanzmariechen in Bavaria have been training diligently, Gardeners have worked on their elaborate choreographies, eloquent hand-made speakers have fine-tuned their speeches.

"Children, young people and active people prepare, train, study contributions, and then no events can take place again," says Marco Anderlik, President of the Franconian Fastnacht Association, disappointed.

It is extremely stressful for the entire club.

“Our tradition of carnival, Fastnacht, and carnival is a cultural asset that defines itself as a festival in the Christian year and ends on Ash Wednesday.

It cannot be postponed.”

That is why there is a grave mood in Nuremberg too.

No hours of swaying and clapping at the "Gaudiwurm" on Carnival Sunday, the children's carnival procession on Shrove Monday has also been cancelled.

"Health is the top priority, and tradition must also be subordinate to that," says Elvira Reuther from the Nuremberg Fastnachtszug support association.

Corona: Carnival events in Bavaria canceled - Munich also affected

Carnival for the elderly, storming the town hall and carnival procession followed by a celebration on the Schlossplatz, all planned for February, were canceled in Aschaffenburg at the end of November.

The traditional highlight of carnival in the state capital has also been canceled at the Munich Viktualienmarkt.

Usually on Shrove Tuesday the market women perform their "dance of the market women".

According to the city, there will also be no other events in the state capital this year, whether indoors or outdoors.

The situation is similar in the Allgäu or in eastern Bavaria: the regional association of East Bavarian carnival societies has canceled the carnival procession planned for Regensburg, as well as the children's carnival.

"It would not be responsible to let many children dance and celebrate in a closed room when more and more corona cases are occurring in kindergartens and schools," explains the 1st President of the Narragonia Regensburg Carnival Society, Erich Lichtl.

"Even if the courses are not that difficult, we do not want to be a hotspot for a larger wave of infection."

Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras and Mardi Gras: These are the differences

Chinese carnival is canceled due to corona

The popular Chinese carnival in Dietfurt an der Altmühl with several thousand onlookers is also canceled due to the corona.

Normally, the spectacle with a history of more than 90 years takes place on the "nonsensical Thursday" before Shrove Monday.

With bells and sometimes with cow bells, masked people with historical carved wooden masks - "Maschkera" - traditionally parade through towns in Upper Bavaria, especially through Mittenwald and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

According to an old custom, they herald the spring and drive away the demons of the dark season.

But this year, too, the motto for the masked people is: stay at home, avoid contact.

Corona-related: Carnival events online

And what's left for the fools?

The Internet.

"Events also take place online," says Lichtl from Regensburg.

"And some clubs surprise their members with medals, carnival care packages and donuts," says Elvira Reuther from Nuremberg.

"With humor and improvisational skills we are now enjoying the rest of the session and are already looking forward to a hopefully normal carnival in 2022/2023."

Fastnacht in Franconia took place this year.

Markus Söder was also there.

The CSU boss arrived directly after the last MPK.