It’s Carnival Time . . .
VOCABULARY
Are you going to dress up for Carnival? The most popular disguise is that of Donald Trump, who is not that difficult to imitate. If you have the right mask and wig and just clown around, you will be a hit. You could tie a Swedish flag around your shoulders to remind people of how Mr Trump put his foot in it when talking about Sweden, informing us that something terrible had happened the night before!
In some cities, there will be extravagant parades, where women wear skimpy costumes covered in sequins and feathers and amazing masks. The spectators have a chance to let their hair down and try to forget the serious times we are living in. However, this seems to be happening less and less here in Salzburg and many friends have told me that they don’t celebrate Carnival anymore. I am sure that we used to enjoy this crazy time before Lent much more than we do today. People made more of an effort to dress up, whether at work or in their leisure time. I still love dressing up but I am not very imaginative .I usually dress up as Astrid Lindgren’s famous character, Pippi Long-stocking. I think that putting on a different disguise to the one you have every day, puts you in a good mood .I must say, when I put my hair into plaits and draw two huge hearts on my cheeks, I look ten years younger.
As we approach the Carnival weekend, I am disappointed that I haven’t seen one princess, pirate, dragon or soldier. Only the local supermarket had made a bit of an effort by putting up some rather deflated balloons and throwing some streamers over the cheese, which was probably not very hygienic but looked quite nice. Last night, I watched Carnival from Cologne and even though the audience seemed to be having a great time, I didn’t find the comedians very funny. I don’t think that this had anything to do with the language barrier, but rather the amount of alcohol being consumed.
Carnival brings with it many traditions and people want to have fun before the serious time of Lent begins – a time when we should all give up something for 40 days. Last Thursday was Women’s Carnival Day, the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday – a time to eat as many donuts filled with jam as you can manage, without having a guilty conscience. In many towns across the state of North Rhine Westphalia, local women take over the town halls and cut off the men’s ties, which is usually seen as a symbol of men’s status. The men wear the stumps of their ties and get a little kiss as compensation.
We don’t celebrate Carnival in England at this time of the year, except for eating lots of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. I am sure that not many British people know why we do this and certainly do not fast afterwards. However, we do have two amazing Carnivals in summer and autumn. In August, there is the Notting Hill Carnival, in London, which lasts for two days.
The second amazing celebration takes place in my very own hometown, Leicester. The locals, mainly Indian, put on the biggest Diwali Festival outside of India. The "Festival of Lights" takes place in autumn and draws thousands of people, including followers of the Sikh and Jain religions, to one of the UK’s most diverse cities.
Many moons ago, I used to be a tour guide in Venice where Carnival takes some beating. It is well worth a visit, if you don’t mind the crowds pushing and shoving while you try to catch a glimpse of the Venetians and tourists alike. People go to so much trouble to create their own gowns and papier-mâché masks. So, whether you are celebrating Carnival or just taking it easy at home, I wish you a wonderful weekend. to dress up – sich verkleiden to have fun – Spaß haben disguise – Verkleidung wig – Perücke to clown around – herumalbern to remind sbd. – jmd. erinnern to put one’s foot in it – ins Fettnäpfchen treten skimpy costumes – knappe Kostüme sequins – Pailletten spectators – Zuschauer to let one’s hair down – ausgelassen feiern Lent – Fastenzeit to make an effort – sich Mühe geben imaginative – fantasievoll a good mood – gute Laune plaits – Zöpfe cheeks – Wangen deflated – eingefallen streamers – Papierschlangen to give up sth. – auf etw. verzichten Shrove Tuesday – Faschingsdienstag donuts filled with jam – Faschingskrapfen to manage sth. – etw. schaffen guilty conscience – schlechtes Gewissen ties – Krawatten compensation – Ausgleich pancakes – Palatschinken locals – Einheimische to draw people – Leute anziehen many moons ago – vor vielen Jahren to take some beating – das ist schwer zu übertreffen to push and to shove – schieben und drängen to catch a glimpse – einen Blick erhaschen alike – gleichermaßen gowns – Roben