Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, for Tommorrow We...Fast?

On Monday, February 23rd, we went to Mainz to attend Carneval (that is how they spell it in German). This is not something they celebrate in Frankfurt, because it is a Catholic holiday, and Frankfurt is Lutheran. So, we went across the river to Mainz. Basically, for those who may not know, it is the last day before Lent. So, they eat, drink, and are merry that day...but mostly drink. Everyone dresses up (the preferred costume is a clown) and heads out out to the parade. It's a bit like Halloween that way, and you even get candy from the floats. They throw it out to the crowd, along with tissues, confetti, toys, and a bunch of other things. I think the strangest thing we got from a float was a sugar packet. It was very much a Festival of Fools, but we had fun.

I almost forgot...the greeting for the Carneval in Mainz is "Helau!" Apparently it is different for each Carneval location. We are guessing that helau comes from the regional dialect.

So, since our lives are rather uneventful these days, I have decided to include pictures. This is becoming more of a picture blog than anything else. However, I take comfort in the fact that nobody is forced to read or look at more than they want to. :)

In front of the Evangelica Christus Kirche with my Carneval hat.

St. Peter's Church

One side of the Willigis Dom...this thing is huge!

Stewart with his Carneval scarf...we think the colors (red, white, blue, yelllow) are the city colors.

The other side of the Willigis Dom. It was hard to find a place to get a picture of this side because it's built against all the other buildings. It's rather awesome (meant in the archaic sense, not the slang...which seem to be the same anyway)!

A statue decorated for Carneval with the Willigis Dom in the background. They did a really good job decorating this statue. It almost seems natural.

Apparently these guys are famous, although I'm not exactly sure why or what they are. They looked like they would be heavy to carry around through this ridiculously long parade!

This horse was part of the parade. They stopped right in front of us (where we had had front row standing). He didn't seem to want to be hooked up to the rest of these horses. It was pretty hilarious to watch him. He even gets his foot caught up in the ropes while he's stamping his hoof. You are also privileged to hear the Mainz Carneval greeting in the background. :)

Many of the floats had a political theme. I missed taking a picture of the Obama float, but I did get this one.

Some eggs in the Carneval parade. There were a lot of great costumes, but I didn't think you'd want to be subjected to all of them.

The Smurfs were in this parade twice. I was fortunate to get a picture of Smurfette and Papa Smurf in this one. :)

Stewart wanted a picture of this band, but we also happened to get the policeman in it. What's so great about that? Well, as you can see, he had been hit with confetti. So, here he is with the confetti in his hair. I'm not sure why he didn't bother to get it out of his hair.

P.S.
I received a calling in our new ward this last Sunday. They sure don't wait long. I guess the Lord knows I prefer to have a calling. And what is my calling, you ask? Relief Society Pianist...2nd best calling. My dream calling is, of course, Primary Pianist. :) Let me just say that the Lord knows our needs and looks out for us. Otherwise, I can't explain how I've had a piano in both apartments in which I've lived in Germany, as well as the opportunity, in both places, to speak/practice Spanish. (There is a lady in our ward from Spain).