Feste
![[Photo © D Nutting] People in Fasnacht costumes](../../images/karnvl-KN-02.jpg)
Local people in the south-western German city of Konstanz enjoying the "Schmotzigen Dunschtig" celebrations.
On this cold night in February they are dressed in warm costumes, including kangaroo characters!
"Schmotzigen Dunschtig" (schmutziger Donnerstag) falls on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and is a highpoint of Fasnacht in Konstanz, a city which is an important centre of Swabian-Alemannic Fasnacht. (see Fasnacht at Wikipedia)
Karneval/Fasching
- An introduction in English to Karneval/Fastnacht/Fasching
- Fastnacht/Karneval (german.about.com)
- Kölner Karneval
- Karneval - photo exhibition by Klaus Ibold - great pictures of people in Karneval costumes!
- Blaue Funken - homepage of one of the great Karneval clubs in Köln. Look at the pictures of their »Tanzpaar«, and of the whole »Korps« in their uniforms!
- Festkomitee Carneval in den Katholischen Kirchengemeinden e.V. (Stadtallendorf)
Walpurgisnacht
- An introduction to Walpurgisnacht (german.about.com)
Weihnachten
- Christkindlesmarkt in Nürnberg - classic traditional Xmas market in the Marktplatz (includes Live-Cam - see »Markt Live«)
- Stille Nacht - original German lyrics to "Silent Night"
- Weihnachtsvokabeln - German Christmas vocab A-Z (aboutgerman.net)
- »Frohes Fest« - CD-ROM with teaching resources, available from the AGTV/Goethe Boutique
- Weihnachten in den deutschsprachigen Ländern / Christmas in the German-speaking countries - introduction to some Christmas traditions, presented in German and in English (
PDF) - Der Weihnachtsmarkt (quiz, sentence unjumbling - oriented around Thema 7, in textbook "Genau!")
Oktoberfest in München
Here are some links to info on the Oktoberfest.
Drachenstich
the »slaying of the Dragon« is an historic annual celebration in Furth im Wald, in eastern Bavaria.
- Drachenstich von Furth (Artikel in der deutschen Wikipedia)
- Historischer Festzug zum Drachenstich (Foto-Galerie - Mittelbayerische Zeitung)
- Drachenstich.de
Oberammergau Passion Play
The Play depicts the last five days in the life of Jesus Christ, portraying the scenes from His entry into Jerusalem until the Resurrection. It's been performed by the people of this Bavarian mountain village every ten years for centuries now.
- The Passion Play (Wikipedia article)
Other
A quick introduction to German holidays and related customs (@ ThinkQuest)
Arbeitsblätter und Aktivitäten @ Heuber >> Landeskunde-Überblick >> Feste und Feiertage (often as PDF file)
Compiled by D Nutting