| Rosenmontag | |
|---|---|
| Significance | Highlight ofKarneval before Lent |
| Date | Monday beforeAsh Wednesday |
| 2025 date | 3 March |
| 2026 date | 16 February |
| 2027 date | 8 February |
| 2028 date | 28 February |
| Frequency | annual |
Rosenmontag (German:[ˌʁoːznˈ̩moːntaːk]ⓘ, English:Rose-Monday[1]) is the highlight of the GermanKarneval (carnival), and takes place on theShrove Monday beforeAsh Wednesday, the beginning ofLent.[2]Mardi Gras, though celebrated onFat Tuesday, is a similar event.Rosenmontag is celebrated in German-speaking countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium (Eupen,Kelmis), but most heavily in the carnival strongholds which include theRhineland, especially inCologne,[3]Bonn,Düsseldorf,[4]Aachen andMainz.[5] In contrast to Germany, in Austria, the highlight of the carnival is notRosenmontag, butShrove Tuesday.
The name for the carnival comes from the German dialect wordroose meaning "frolic" andMontag meaning Monday.[1]
Thecarnival season [de] begins at 11 minutes past the eleventh hour on 11 November and the "street carnival" starts on the Thursday beforeRosenmontag, which is known asWeiberfastnacht ("women's carnival",Fat Thursday).Karneval is prevalent in Roman Catholic areas and is a continuation of the old Roman traditions of slaves and servants being master for a day.Karneval derives from the Latincarnem levare ("taking leave of meat") marking the beginning of Lent.[6]
Carnival is not a national holiday in Germany, but schools are closed onRosenmontag and the following Tuesday in the strongholds and many other areas. Many schools as well as companies tend to give teachers, pupils and employees the Thursday beforeRosenmontag off as well and have celebrations in school or in the working place onWeiberfastnacht, although every now and then there are efforts to cut these free holidays in some companies.[citation needed]
Celebrations usually include dressing up in fancycostumes, dancing,parades, heavy drinking and general public displays with floats. Every town in theKarneval areas boasts at least one parade with floats making fun of the themes of the day.[7] Usually sweets (Kamelle) are thrown into the crowds lining the streets among cries ofHelau orAlaaf, whereby the cryKölle Alaaf is only applied in theCologne Carnival and Oche Alaaf is only applied in Aachen Carnival–Alaaf stems from orAlle af,Ripuarian for "all [others] away". Sweets andtulips are thrown into the crowd.
The celebrations become quieter the next day, known asVeilchendienstag ("Violet Tuesday",Shrove Tuesday), and end withAsh Wednesday.
Media related toRosenmontag at Wikimedia Commons