Between Horror and Fun - "The Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet"

As a child, the Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet was a time full of anticipation for me - and a bit of fear. I grew up in Swabian, and there the Fasnet is simply part of it. I loved the colourful activity, the music, the confetti. But when the witches with their wild masks and shaggy robes raged through the streets, my heart beat faster. Fascination and fear - this ambivalence is simply part of Fasnet.

Unlike the Rhenish carnival with its ceremonial sessions, the Swabian-Germanic Fasnet is deeply rooted in old traditions. Already in the Middle Ages, fools marched through the alleys to drive away the winter and hold up a mirror to the powerful. Even today, the fool figures play with light and shadow: the devil dances through the city, but he is mocked. The witches frighten, but they are also part of the game.

The Fasnet is a time in which social developments are humourously criticised. The freedom of fools allows it to pronounce what might otherwise remain hidden. Especially in times of uncertainty and upheaval, this can teach us something: criticism can be creative, laughter can disarm, and sometimes a mask helps to tell the truth.

And then comes Ash Wednesday – and with it the “seriousness of life”. But perhaps we take a bit of the Fasnets wisdom with us: courage to truth, joy in the game and the realisation that life needs both – light and shadow, laughter and reflection.

Your pastor Martina Klein