That would be Fasching/Karneval

And it's not just Cologne, but most of SW Germany. We went to Mainz (near Frankfurt) one year and I can report that it's a very odd festival. On the face of it, it's just another excuse for Germans to sing Schlager songs, drink lots of beer and eat lots of sausages. And so it is; but the weird fancy dress is - so I am informed - a piss-take of the French army uniforms when they occupied the region a century or two ago, although I believe the drinking & eating bit goes back a lot further.

Posted By: BerlinCanary, Sep 27, 16:06:50