Karneval Party 2017

Lots of activities, fun, games, music and snacks. Bring your entire family, friends and new students are welcome. Please download and print your flyer and send the link to your friends and family.

Saturday February 25th, 2017 – 4 pm to 6 pm –
Sea Base room downstairs “Foxtrott”

GERMAN SCHOOL Campus Location
Youth Center Newport Sea Base – 1931 West Coast Hwy
Newport Beach, CA 92663

Please make your reservation:
Age group: 7 to 18
GERMAN SCHOOL campus: (949)  285  0829
Email: mail@GERMANSCHOOLcampus.com

About Karneval

In general, Karneval is the word used for the Rhenish (Rhineland) version of carnival in northwest Germany (except in Mainz), while the word Fasching refers to the similar celebration in southern Germany and Austria. The big day for Karneval is the Rose Monday parade, whereas the big Fasching parades are usually the day before, on Carnival Sunday. (The big final parade for Mardi Gras in New Orleans is on Shrove Tuesday.) But one of Germany’s biggest carnival parades takes place in the northern German city of Braunschweig, also on Carnival Sunday. Called “Schoduvel” (“scaring away the devil”), the Braunschweig carnival dates back to 1293.

As we can see from the examples above, keeping track of carnival customs is far from simple. The term Fasching is also seen and heard in Berlin and other parts of northern Germany. Fastnacht, mostly used in Swabia and Switzerland, is also used in the northern city of Mainz. However, that still does not mean that these words are interchangeable. In fact, if we examine the origin of the three words, we discover that each is derived from a different source.

The word Fasching dates back to the 13th century and is derived from the Germanic word vaschanc or vaschang, in modern German: Fastenschank = the last serving of alcoholic beverages before Lent. In olden times the 40-day Lenten period of fasting was strictly observed. People refrained from drinking alcohol or eating meat, milk products and eggs. The English word “fast” (to refrain from eating) is related to German fasten.