Today is Weiberfastnacht, an unofficial holiday in the Rhineland. At the majority of workplaces, work ends before noon. Celebrations start at 11:11 am in Germany. In comparison with Rosenmontag, there are hardly any parades, but people wear costumes and celebrate in pubs and in the streets. Beueler Weiberfastnacht (“women’s carnival in Beuel”) is traditionally celebrated in the Bonn district of Beuel. The tradition is said to have started here in 1824, when local women first formed their own “carnival committee”.
The symbolic storming of the Beuel town hall is broadcast live on TV. In many towns across the state of North Rhine Westphalia, a ritual “takeover” of the town halls by local women has become tradition. Among other established customs, on that day women cut off the ties of men, which are seen as a symbol of men’s status. The men wear the stumps of their ties and get a Bützchen (little kiss) as compensation.
The Big Hockey Match!
The Irony is strong here…
Thanx, Bluebird of Bitterness
Today is the birthday, in 1833, of Alexander Borodin, Russian/Georgian chemist and composer. A doctor and chemist by profession and training, Borodin made important early contributions to organic chemistry. Although he is presently known better as a composer, he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations, only practicing music and composition in his spare time or when he was ill.
Borodin is known best for his symphonies, his two string quartets, the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiexn6O9To4
