...Austrian / Germanic Cultural Experiences...

In additional to living a somewhat normal life these days as I attend school each day, I am fortunate enough to be living outside of American where I can experience the various cultural events found here in Europe. Unfortunately, here in Graz Austria, I don't have the opportunity to experience all of these cultural celebrations, as you might find in other German-speaking countries/cities. However, I would like to share with you what they are, which might be of some interest to you...

"Fasching" - Germans call the pre-Lenten Carnival season die närrische Saison ("the foolish season") or die fünfte Jahreszeit ("the fifth season"). Except for Munich's Oktoberfest, it is the one time of year when many normally staid Germans (and Austrians and Swiss) loosen up and go a little crazy. Fastnacht or Karneval is a "movable feast" (ein beweglicher Festtag) that depends on the date of Easter (Ostern). In 2006 Fastnacht falls on February 28 (Faschingsdienstag). The official start of the Fasching season is either January 7 (the day after Ephiphany, Dreikönige) or the 11th day of the 11th month (Elfter im Elften, Nov. 11), depending on the region. That gives the Carnival guilds (Zünfte) three to four months to organize each year's events (Carnival balls, parades, royalty, etc.) leading up to the big bash in the week before Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch), when the Lenten season (die Fastenzeit) begins.

Carnival in Rio is probably the world's most famous. In the U.S., New Orleans is well known for Mardi Gras. While that former French possession is one of the few cities in the United States with a major Carnival celebration, almost all of the Catholic regions and cities across the German-speaking world (and the rest of Europe) celebrate Mardi Gras in a big way. Only a few Protestant areas in northern and eastern Germany also observe Karneval. Some of Germany's best known celebrations are held in Cologne (Köln), Mainz, Munich (München) and Rottweil. But Cologne's Karneval is not really the same as Munich's Fasching. Germanic Carnival celebrations vary from region to region, sometimes even taking place at different times! (The Fasnacht event in Basel, Switzerland happens a week after most other Carnivals.) The main event of Karneval in Köln is the parade on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). Further south in Bavaria and Austria, the culmination of Fasching takes place on Shrove Tuesday (Faschingsdienstag), like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. These and other differences reflect the long history and local traditions of the celebration, and they are also seen in the language.

Another celebration during this time is...

The "Vienesse Ball" in Vienna, Austria. Again, I wasn't able to attend this Ball for many reasons, but I did have the chance to see the Ball on local television here. The interesting point of the whole ball was that this year the actress, Carmen Electra, was invited by Viennese businessman Richard Lugner to visit the traditional Viennese opera ball last Thursday. Apparently this multi-millionaire, Richard Lugner, invites a new celebrity each year to this Ball, and pays large sums of money to do so. From what I've heard, he pays each celebrity between $60-100K to join him for 2 days in Vienna. In turn, it's there job to simply be their glamous selves as his guest to the Ball, and to make an appearance at his large department store. If you would like to learn more about it, here is the website... http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node2/home/opernball/7789.php















Another celebration especially this year is...

The "Mozart Festival" in honor of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the most famous Austrian of all time. This year, 2006, marks the 250th anniversary of his birth and Austria will be honoring this musical genius with a rich and varied calendar of events the whole year. Just a few of the interesting facts about Mozart, that you may or may not have already known, is that he made such a large impact on the world before his death at only 35 years old. And speaking of age, Mozart was only 5 years old when he learned his first instrument, and 6 years old when he gave his first concert. A website dedicated to this year... http://www.mozart2006.net/eng/index.html

And finally, a celebration that I was fortunate to attend...

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a traditional Austrian cultural event called the "Bauernbund Ball". This translates as, "Farmer's Alliance Ball". What makes this such a cool Ball for me is that I have the opportunity to witness the traditional customs of Austria.