page_title: Mainz carnival
section_title: Rise of carnival to a social event
hierarchical_section_title: Mainz carnival / History / Rise of carnival to a social event
caption_attribution_description: Stamp description / Briefmarkenbeschreibung Deutsch: 150 Jahre Mainzer Carneval English: 150 years of carnival in Mainz Ausgabepreis: 60 Pfennig First Day of Issue / Erstausgabetag: 14. Januar 1988 Michel-Katalog-Nr: 1349 Designer:Jacki
context_page_description: The Mainz Carnival is a months-long citywide carnival celebration in Mainz, Germany that traditionally begins on 11 November but culminates in the days before Ash Wednesday in the spring.
  It is one of the largest carnival events in Germany and, along with the Cologne and Düsseldorfer carnivals, Mainz is one of the three cities prominent in the rhenish carnival tradition. Aside from the celebrations, parades, and jollity which are typical of carnival traditions in many countries, the Mainz carnival has an unusual emphasis on political and literary humor and commentary.
context_section_description: In the beginning, the Mainz carnival was non-political. The activities of the carnivalistic organizations (MCV, Ranzengarde, Rosenmontagszug, sessions) had been watched closely by the grand ducal authorities, but generally allowed to continue. This is indicated by the fact that some carnival associations had been allowed to be founded again and again, but only for one particular season. Each 11 November they were refounded, and this was approved by the authorities. Within the 19th century this process became a tradition. It was eventually given up due to the associated inconveniences.
  The politicization of the Mainz carnival started when celebrants used the opportunity of the carnival to mock French troops stationed in the city in the early 19th century, and accelerated in the run-up to the revolutions of 1848 in the German states, when revolutionary leader Franz Heinrich Zitz became president of the Mainz carnival association (MCV) in 1843 and the democrat Philipp Wittmann joined the committee. The symbolism of the Jacobin Club turning to the foolish may be traced back to these two men: the interpretation of the foolish cap as extended Phrygian cap, the colours blue, white, red, and yellow derived from the Tricolour, the committee as a „revolutionary council of the eleven“. During the revolutionary year 1848 itself, the carnival was cancelled, and the carnival gazette „Narhalla“ turned to a revolutionary flyer.
  Starting in the 1840s, political commentary and critique had become much more common in carnival events, especially in the weekly club meetings that ostensibly existed to organize celebrations. Speakers would often have to be coy about their meaning, but nonetheless the carnival had become an outlet for political dissent. The ability to speak publicly about politics, however veiled the reference, made the events popular, and the 1840s saw the founding of a second carnival club. This one, founded by a chimney sweep and a paper hanger, had an inexpensive membership fee to allow working class citizens to participate.
  During the years after the revolution, carnival activities declined briefly. By 1855, however, the tradition began to see a resurgence, leading to a rapid increase in the number of club members and to the foundation of new corporations (Kleppergarde, 1856). In 1857, events were cancelled due to the explosion of the powder magazine and in 1866 due to the Austro-Prussian War. The Rosenmontagszüge had also to be cancelled in following years due to single events. In 1884 the MCV took the opportunity to give a session in the newly finished guildhall, which they would continue to use for the next 50 years. In later years many new associations arose: the Mombacher Carneval Verein (1886), the Gonsenheimer Carneval Verein (1892) and the Carnival association „Eiskalte Brüder“ (1893). As Guards, the Mainzer Prinzengarde (1884), the Prinzessgarde (1886), renamed in 1933 as Guard of the Princess, the Mombacher Prinzengarde (1886) and the Jocus-Garde (1889) were added.
caption: Stamp commemorating 150 years of Mainzer Carneval: The Bajass with his lantern.
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