Fasching Fashions
Celebrating Carnival in Graz, Austria
Mardi Gras, Carnival, Fasching – whatever you want to call it – is a bit of a non-event on the Emerald Isle, Her Ladyship tells me. On Shrove Tuesday you simply eat a pile of thin, unsweetened pancakes sprinkled with caster sugar and lemon juice. That’s it. End of story.
Well, that’s a bit disappointing for a country that loves to party. No costumes, no music, no dancing, no parades. I don’t know why the Irish don’t do Carnival. Sure, it’s like a cross between Hallowe’en and St. Patrick’s Day. The dressing up and the parade, all rolled into one event.
No matter. Here in Austria, we have Fasching. The Austrians certainly know how to make the most of it too. Known as the “fifth season”, Fasching actually goes on for weeks on end. It already kicks off in November, would you believe! At 11.11 am on 11.11. to be exact. From then on, there is a series of events throughout the “season”, especially on Fasching Saturday, Fasching Sunday and Rosenmontag (Rose Monday, 42 days before Easter), culminating in the big parade on Faschingdienstag, Shrove Tuesday.
When in Austria…. On Shrove Tuesday, rather than nibbling a few measly pancakes at home, the Oldies set off to check out the Fasching parade properly for once. And where better to do so than in Graz? The beautiful old city centre makes a lovely backdrop for all the colourful costumes and floats.
I’m always happy to watch humans make eejits of themselves. But here in Austria, that is precisely the object of the exercise. Unlike, say the elegant costumes and elaborate masks of the Venetian Carnival, the theme here is “the fool”. The sillier the costume the better. That’s great, I thought, the Oldies will fit right in. They won’t even have to bother to dress up!
Apparently, the idea behind the “fool” theme in the past was that it was an opportunity to mock royalty, aristocrats, and, of course, politicians. Come to think of it, I remember seeing a few masks of famous politicians in the shops alright. I didn’t spot anyone wearing one though. I don’t suppose there’s much need to make a fool of some of the current big names in politics. They do such a good job of making fools of themselves, all by themselves.
The parade certainly was colourful and there was a great buzz in the Herrengasse where we lined up to watch the fun. I don’t suppose that Her Ladyship with her stubby little legs managed to see very much, but from my perch on His Lordship’s shoulder I got a great view of the procession. I was very impressed with the imaginative homemade costumes and floats. On one float there was even a homemade, full-size helicopter! You humans are a very creative lot, there’s no doubt about it.
Fun and games were had by all, young and old alike, and at the end of the parade the crowd was treated to a storm of confetti blown onto them from a huge … well, confetti blower. I don’t envy whoever had the job of cleaning up afterwards!
Ah, but here’s the best thing about Fasching: Krapfen! These wonderful apricot jam-filled doughnut-like buns are heaven on a plate. They are usually only sold during the Fasching season, yet Austrians manage to consume around 100 million of these little beauties every year! Their lightness belies their calorific value, but sure you only live once. Up to 500 calories a pop, I’ve heard. Now I know why Carnival is also called “Fat Tuesday”!
His Lordship has just bought a Krapfen from a local baker’s which supposedly makes the best ones in town. I can’t wait to sink my beak into it. Ah, look, isn’t that sweet? He has even got out the paper streamers for the occasion… Yummy, that looks so delicious, mmmmm… Hang on a second, he’s tying a streamer around my beak. The greedy …. MMMM!
