Comment Carnival with a difference

Beuel · No proclamations, no jesters' sessions, no Carnival parades; nevertheless, many jesters in Beuel are countering the impending gloom with ideas. This creativity deserves recognition, thinks GA editor Holger Willcke.

 There won't be a boisterous Carnival celebration like this one this session. Nevertheless, revellers are demonstrating creativity with new ideas.

There won't be a boisterous Carnival celebration like this one this session. Nevertheless, revellers are demonstrating creativity with new ideas.

Foto: Rainer Schmidt

No proclamations, no jesters' sessions, no Carnival parades, but instead of being frustrated, many jesters are getting organised and countering the impending gloom with lots of ideas. This creativity deserves recognition, because it contributes to being cheery at this difficult time.

The ingenuity of Carnival revellers knows almost no bounds: Carnival medals will be sent by post, dialect bands will offer digital live concerts via the Internet, Bonn's keyboard virtuoso Willi Bellinghausen will tours the region under the motto "Jeck vür de Dür" (jester in front of your door) and will play Carnival music from his car for 30 minutes with distancing, the ladies' committee Frohsinn Geislar is planning a coronavirus-compliant Carnival rally through the village and the Elferrats women of Sankt Cäcilia Oberkassel are offering a "living room session to go". Who knows in which corner of Bonn more surprises are in store?

This all goes to show that the Carnival tradition, which is often accused of superficiality and rigid structures, especially by non-Rhinelanders, can react quickly to crisis situations and still fulfil its mission. In the current situation, this mission means spreading confidence and strengthening togetherness, despite contact restrictions and distance requirements.

In 1962, the storm-surge on the German North Sea coast elicited a carnival response, just as the Gulf War did in 1991, and now the coronavirus pandemic is doing the same. This proves that constant change is the only real tradition in Carnival, too.

((Original text, Holger Willcke; translation John Chandler) )
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