Kindermaskenzug 2013: kids carnival parade in Mainz Hechtsheim
I’d like to say I’m still recovering from Fasching season, or more appropriately, the lengthy per-Lenten celebration season that just ended in this region of Germany… But I’m not. Since I’m a bit of a late planner and at times, terribly shy around my German neighbors, we really only participated in a couple of kid-centric events. I’m ok with that. Bella’s ok with it too. She is not a fan of huge crowds, which come with the territory of parade season here, and the two children’s parades we attended were just fine for us both. The kids parades and other Fasching celebrations is like Halloween dress up. (Fyi… Halloween trick or treating is also gaining in popularity around here too)
This pictorial is a nice representation of the kindermaskenzug, or literally, children’s mask train, in our little town of Mainz Hechtsheim. She definitely got more candy from this one than the bigger Mainz City kinder umzug (parade) the next morning. That’s also typical…smaller towns provide more goodies than the big city ones, at least for the kinder parades. I have hundreds more photos from the Mainz kinder parade still waiting to be made blog worthy…so that will be another post entirely.
I live in a German Community in Texas and until I was in my 20s we still had the Kindermaskenzug every year. I still have photos from when I was a child and participated. Unfortunately all our traditions are dying away, even our food. Being in the “melting pot” makes me sad sometimes. I so miss all my traditions. Thanks for sharing, you brought back all sorts of wonderful memories.
The kinder parades are so much fun. Next year, I hope to hit more of the villages’ parades as it isn’t so overwhelming and the sense of community is, well, cozy. I loved seeing my neighbors right down the street, even if my German is atrocious, having a little one makes it easier to communicate! We hope to bring back some awesome memories when we return to Alamo City!