Rosenmontag, known as Rose Monday, is one of the highlights of the German Karneval. A similar celebration as Mardi Gras, Rose Monday is celebrated on the Monday before Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent in Germany, East Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. The carnival is most extravagant in areas of the Rhineland, including Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Mainz.
Each yeah the carnival is celebrated with fancy costumes, dancing, parades, heavy drinking and public displays of floats. Candy or small bottles are often thrown into the crowd at parades.
In the Rose Monday parade in Düsseldorf this year, many of the floats were meant to mock politicians while sending a political message to the crowd. One float features Europe carrying a bag of money and kissing Moammar Qaddafi carrying a barrel of oil. Another politicized float features German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy entangled together in a romantic pose. Yet, another satirical float features Iran's President Ahmadinejad with dynamite in his mouth with the words Nuclear Program written on the dynamite.
Take a look at some of the most satirical parade floats in celebration of Rose Monday.
A carnival float with papier-mache showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) is pictured at the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012. The Rose Monday parades in Cologne, Mainz and Duesseldorf are the highlight of the German street carnival season.REUTERS/Ina FassbenderA float with papier-mache depicting Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a dynamite in his mouth with the text 'Nuclear Programme' is pictured at the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012.REUTERS/Ina FassbenderA reveller celebrates the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012.REUTERS/Ina Fassbender REUTERevellers celebrate the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012.REUTERS/Ina FassbenderA carnival float with papier-mache depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel with text on the dress 'Emergency parachute' is pictured at the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20.REUTERS/Ina FassbenderA float with papier-mache showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a skeleton showing the Free Democratic Party (FDP) on a bicycle is pictured at the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012.REUTERS/Ina FassbenderA papier-mache frog with the text on its tongue 'Islamization' and a butterfly with 'Arab Spring' on a float is pictured during the traditional Rose Monday carnival parade in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Feb. 20, 2012.REUTERS/Ina Fassbender
