Weiberfastnacht in Germany

In Germany, Weiberfastnacht marks the beginning of the official street carnival, which culminates on Rose Monday and ends on the night of Ash Wednesday. It is not an official public holiday, although work is suspended in some cities. However, there is no obligation for employers to give their employees time off on Weiberfastnacht, which is why this tradition is purely voluntary.

February 1729 is often regarded as the beginning of Weiberfastnacht, when nuns danced around in secular dress in the Mauritius Monastery in Cologne.

In the regions where the day is known as "Weiberfastnacht", women are given power for one day. In the Rhineland, for example, it is customary for ties to be cut off on this day and for women to dress up as old and ugly and become the so-called "Möhnen". A Möhn is an older woman between Bonn and Koblenz and in the Eifel region. Since the 19th century, women have sometimes celebrated carnival on Weiberfastnacht among themselves.