Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Pancake Tuesday/Mardi Gras/Carnevale/Faschingsdienstag

Today is Pancake Tuesday and although I didn't bake or carry around pancakes I went to a Mardi Gras event in our little town, the fire wheel. It is said to be an old Germanic custom to roll a burning wheel of straw down a hill. Since the 70s our little community is commited to this pagan custom. The weather was cold, the mulled wine hot (naturally I drank a non-alcoholic kid's punch) and I -of course- forgot my cam. So I can only show you some miserable pics from my handy cam. Here they are:

This is where everything started, with a pyre and the youngsters from our fire brigade forming a guard of honour (on the left side of the photo):

And here firemen, clad in asbestos clothing, steering the wheel down the hill:

If you want a closer look, there even exists a video of this spectacle.

http://www.hvv-wilhelmsfeld.de/berichte/2007/feuerrad.php

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