The peak of the German carnival, two days before Lent. Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz each send a parade of satirical floats through the streets, and offices in the Rhineland simply close.
The Monday before Ash Wednesday, forty-eight days before Easter. The season officially opens the previous 11 November at 11:11.
The Phala almanac gives the exact day for your own city; the lunar and solar rules above are what it computes from.
The Rhineland carnival is a licensed inversion: the city is handed to a Prince, Peasant and Maiden, and the floats are built to insult whoever has earned it that year — politicians most of all, by name and likeness.
Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz each send their own parade, and the rivalry between them is part of it. Offices, schools and shops in the Rhineland simply close, though it is not a legal holiday anywhere.
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The Phala almanac shows this day where it falls for your own city — sunrise, tithi and all five limbs, anywhere on earth. See how the almanac works →
