Karneval Karneval Karneval or Fasching is a German holiday celebrated sometime in February. The main festivities take place on the 2 days before Ash Wednesday known as Rose Monday and Shrove Tuesday. On Rose Monday, huge parades take place with decorated floats and bands. On Shrove Tuesday, there are more parades, and crowds cheer the prince and his attendants. One of the favorite things to do during this festival is to dress up in masks and costumes.
Children especially like to dress up.
In Cologne, from early January until the beginning of Lent, the calendar is filled with 300 costume balls, performances of original songs, humorous speeches, and many other events. These events lead up to the final days just before Ash Wednesday. While all of these events are happening, the Lord Mayor of Cologne receives an invitation of Karneval from Prince Karneval and the Cologne Peasant. The Princes represents the prince of joy and the Peasant represents the valor of the men of the town. Every town has a Prince and a Princess of Karneval.