Latest news with #Karneval
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Police on alert as terrorists call for attacks also during Carnival
Islamists have used social networks to call for attacks, including during the Cologne carnival, Martin Lotz, head of the Cologne police's carnival operations, told dpa. He said that these kinds of statement also aimed at unsettling the population and that the police's operational concept will be adapted again as the region prepares for days of festivities. An Islamic State website shows a poster with four targets, two of which are in Cologne, one in Nuremberg and one in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. "We have no knowledge of any specific attack plans or any specific threat. This does not change our previous plans," said a spokeswoman for the Nuremberg police. Security sources said the calls for violence were known and taken seriously, but that there was no change in the current assessment of the threat level, which was already considered to be high. "We will once again sensitize the emergency services on the basis of the post and keep them informed," Lotz said, adding that the police were prepared for such developments given the tense security situation. Cologne police said last week they were preparing for carnival with a strict security plan following the Munich attack and other acts of violence in Germany. They were referring to a deadly car-ramming attack in Munich earlier this month. Carnival, or Karneval, also known as Fasching or Fastnacht, is an important part of German culture, particularly in southern Germany and the western Rhineland region. Traditional strongholds of carnival culture include Cologne and Dusseldorf, where revellers gather for a raucous days-long party ahead of Ash Wednesday and the start of the Christian season of Lent. Cologne police plan to deploy around 1,500 more officers than usual over the carnival period. The festivities begin on Thursday.
Local Norway
25-02-2025
- Lifestyle
- Local Norway
Everything you need to know about Norway's Fastelavn traditions
What is Fastelavn Fastelavn means aften før fasten, or 'the evening before the fast', and was the original term used for Shrove Tuesday in Norway, the 40-day fast leading up to Easter. Like in other countries, Shrove Tuesday traditions are centred around enjoying some last indulgences before a period of fasting. These days Fastelavn refers to the three feast days that precede Lent, but most commonly refers to the Sunday before Lent. Fastelavn is also intertwined with Norway's Carnival traditions, which can make things quite confusing. While the two are used interchangeably, they are supposed to be distinct celebrations. Many religious associations surrounding Carnival or Karneval have disappeared, and the event is celebrated by younger children in kindergartens and pre-schools these days. Primary grade schools host their own celebrations where the children dress up in masks and costumes, go in a procession, sing, and play games. Dressing up for Carnival is a long-rooted tradition that has been around much longer than Halloween in Norway. For this reason, when you hear someone bring up Karneval in Norway, it's best to assume they are probably referring to something their kids are doing at kindergarten. When it comes to Fastelavn, most people will associate the day with buns, and it's sometimes referred to as Bollensøndag because of this. Fastelavnboller are traditionally only available in the days and weeks leading up to Fastelavn, and are extremely popular. These Shrovetide buns became popular around the time stoves became more common in the 1900s. They are known for being light and airy and filled with strawberry jam and whipped cream. Another typical Fastelavn tradition is homes being adorned with Bjørkeris. These are bundles of twigs from a birch tree that are tied together. Young kids normally decorate them with bright feathers. However, people will also buy them from florists. While the tradition of buying professionally made ones being sold was started by The Norwegian Women's Public Health Association in 1946, they used to be used in pagan health and fertility rituals.
New European
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New European
The Leipzig sausage-fest
What is it about Germans and sausage? They like nothing better than grilling bangers on a barbecue and drinking beer. It has to be Bratwurst of course – those are the plump pork-and-beef sausages from Thuringia. Add a bread roll, a dollop of potato salad and industrial quantities of mild yellow mustard (which must be from Bautzen). And that's it. Usually it's the men who light the charcoal and turn the sausages on the grill, with the tongs in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. The women are in the kitchen, peeling potatoes. And usually it's a warm summer evening on the allotment ( Kleingarten ) or in the backyard ( Hinterhof ). It's quintessentially German, in the same way that cricket teas and village fetes are so very English. So the recent city centre grillfest in Leipzig's market square was an extraordinary, baffling event. Why would hundreds of people choose to spend eight hours outdoors on their feet in freezing fog, grilling against the clock? The clue is in the costumes. There are grill teams dressed up as kings, vikings, witches, fairies, bees, butterflies, American NFL footballers. even giant prawns. This is because many of the team members also belong to Carnival (Karneval) clubs. Karneval is known as Fasching here in formerly atheist-communist eastern Germany. It's celebrated on Shrove Monday, two days before Ash Wednesday. But Fasching has little to do with religion. It's a great big street party with processions of floats, costumed dancers and musicians. So the winter grilling contest is a sort of prequel to Fasching . It brings the teams together after the Christmas and New Year holidays, raises funds, and everyone loves it. They cram into the Grill Your Own Sausage enclosure, knocking back bottled beer from the festival sponsor, Ur-Krostitzer brewery. Some daredevils try their skills on the beer rodeo – a bouncy castle for grown-ups with a giant inflatable beer bottle in the middle. The player straddles the bottle. The operator presses the button. And immediately the bouncy bottle bucks and twists like a bronco, throwing the player on to the inflatable bed. For most, once is enough. There's another giant inflatable beer bottle and this one has a name – Uri. He waddles on to the stage to present each winning team with merch advertising the brewery, from bathrobes to baseball caps. To win a prize, a finished grilled sausage must pass four vigorous tests. How does it look? Is it cooked through, but not burned? How does it feel in the mouth? And how does it taste? To make it a fair contest, there is a standard-issue sausage for all grill-teams, supplied by the co-sponsor, Wolf. And they each get a standard-issue small portable barbecue and cooking utensils. What's more important, in these days of 'Veganuary', it's not all sausage. The tournament now allows teams to bring their own ingredients and concoct a 'non-sausage alternative grilled item'. The winners in this category were a team of witches. They scored top points with their grillable pie containing a mix of gorgonzola cheese, roasted walnuts and a drizzle of honey. A runner-up dished out grilled pineapple with lime and chilli. Less exotic was the musical accompaniment – an Elvis impersonator and a young woman belting out Helene Fischer songs. But the crowds loved them, deftly holding on to their beer bottles as they danced and sang along. For 15 years the annual winter grilling festival has followed this formula. But then Germans appreciate predictability. One of their favourite films for New Year's Eve is the English cult classic Dinner for One , with its immortal catchphrase, often quoted whenever a group of Germans are planning an annual event… 'The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?' asks the butler. 'Of course, James,' replies Miss Sophie, 'The same procedure as every year.' Jane Whyatt is a journalist, newsreader and independent TV producer
