Mainz Carnival Costumes
Mainz Rosenmontag
and carnival costumes
On Rosenmontag in Mainz the place is packed with locals and visitors, all in costume for the last big celebrations before Ash Wednesday when Lent imposes its more severe restrictions of frivolity.
The Mainz carnival costumes of the parade itself are colourful….
…sometimes scary in a friendly sort of way…
…and sometimes very two-faced.
There were colourful elves who brought their mushrooms with them.
Some of the seemingly fierce faces are actually very friendly…
…and some are just cool.
…but mostly there is a sense of pure enjoyment – often translated into spontaneous dancing to the band music.
As it has been said:
There are shortcuts to happiness,
and dancing is one of them.
Mainz carnival costumes and fun
Whether you are oriental…
…a chilled baton twirler…
…an Aztec band member…
…a wizard…
…a pretty witch…
..a girl in folk costume…
…a well-turned out set of carriage horses…
… or a horse of a different colour…
…or even one of Ali Baba’s thieves – this is the biggest day of celebration of Mainz’s 5th season, Fastnacht.
Mainz carnival costumes are seemingly limitless in the range of their creativity.
A sea of colour alongside the Rhine with Mainz carnival costumes
Rosenmontag is when colour reigns, be it resplendent in your costume…
…kept under your hat…
…enhanced by velvet and lace…
...or marked with devilish delight.
Parade watchers, whether carrying their undergrowth with them…
… just blossoms blooming beside the route…
…watching from the balcony in bumble bee costume…
… or in your coat of many colours from the pavement beside the route…
…or like this little person, finding more interesting things to distract from the parade…
…Mainz carnival costumes all form the crazy kaleidoscope that is Mainz on Rosenmontag at the height of the 5th season.
A very natural carnival costume
in Mainz
Some people are not overdressed- like these cavemen who walk the route every year, bared to the elements no matter what the weather on Rosenmontag.
Colour, bands, and kangaroos
at the end of the day
Finally, the last colourful band passes…
…and the kangaroo family heads for home, followed by a middle Eastern gentleman and a train driver
Parade end means take your Mainz carnival costume to your local watering hole
This is when locals head to their favourite bar.
As I danced Rosenmontag into Shrove Tuesday I couldn’t help but think of the saying:
Life may not be the party
we hoped for,
but while we're here,
shall we dance?
We did, until we could dance no more – and Rosenmontag was no more than a reflection of our happy memories of a day spent with friends, old and new, celebrating the 5th season of the Mainz year.
Thoughts were already turning to the Mainz carnival costumes for next year.
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