Germany's famed Rose Monday carnival marked by low-key celebrations of tradition, resilience
Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional ‘Rosenmontag’ carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival.
)
Parades, street festivals and other large gatherings have all been cancelled in Germany this year. But organisers in Duesseldorf, one of the German Rhineland's main Carnival strongholds, didn't want to let Rose Monday in 2021 go completely without the traditional caricatures of current events. Here, a young carnival reveller dressed as a clown holds an umbrella in the empty old town in Duesseldorf. AP Photo/Martin Meissner
Organisers sent eight floats through the city — separately, rather than in a parade, and on routes that were kept secret in advance to prevent crowds from gathering. Here, a political carnival float depicting climate and coronavirus crisis is driving in the streets of Duesseldorf. AP Photo/Martin Meissner
One of Germany’s first superspreader events stemmed from a Carnival celebration in a town west of Cologne in February 2020, where many people came into contact with an infected man. This year authorities are taking no chances, with public consumption of alcohol banned in some places. Here, a carnival reveller rides an electric scooter near the Severinstor gate in Cologne. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP
Carnival reveller Ingrid Kuellheim wears a face mask to protect against the coronavirus as she walks in disguise long the route, usually taken by the carnival parade Rosenmontagszug, in Cologne, Germany, Monday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional carnival parades are canceled. Marius Becker/dpa via AP
Germany has seen over 65,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths during the pandemic and just put restrictions on its borders with Austria and the Czech Republic to keep out the new virus variants circulating in those countries.
A man wearing a carnival cap stands in a deserted street in the old town in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional carnival parades are canceled. Fabian Strauch/DPA via AP