Villacher Fasching - LEI LEI!

 

 

I guess all of you have at least heard something about the Villacher Fasching before. It is a carnival that takes place every year in February in my hometown, Villach, in Carinthia. This year we are celebrating it on February 9 and as the date is coming closer and closer I am starting to think about a costume. You should know that the Villacher Fasching is very popular in Villach and that it is one of the main events throughout the year besides the Villacher Kirchtag and the European Bike Week. You should also know that we really love to get dressed up. We usually invest either quite a lot of money in our costumes or a great deal of creativity, which is what I am usually going for. Of course there are always some people who are not that into putting on a disguise, but the majority of children as well as adults definitely loves it. For us “Villacher” it is that special time of the year, when we are officially allowed to make a fool of ourselves, to make fun of others, to joke around and above all, to amuse ourselves and have a great time with our family and friends.

The Villacher Fasching always takes place on a Saturday and in the afternoon there is a huge parade that lasts about one and a half hours. Hundreds of groups participate in it. I guess what makes it so attractive is that basically anybody can found a group. All you need is at least five other persons that accompany you. Once you have found your allies you just have find a theme and decide whether you want to walk or drive. Finally you have to fill in a registration form, send it in and you are good to go. Normally plenty of schools and kindergartens take part in it as well as fire brigades, politicians, advertising agencies, sports clubs, dance groups, bands and other fellow citizens. The parade is a spectacular event. Loud music is being played by live bands or coming from loudspeakers fixed on the cars or tractors that are passing by, confetti and candy thrown off the cars or distributed by the groups are constantly flying through the air, everybody is shouting “LEI LEI!”, and the mostly amazing and original costumes are a pleasure to look at. Also, more and more international groups are participating, especially Italinas and Slovenes. 

The highlight of the parade is the adult as well as the children “Prinzenpaar”, a selected adult and children’s couple that is crowned every year on November 11, the official beginning of the carnival. The tradition of crowning two couples goes back to 1956. The prince and the princess form a fictive couple (they usually don’t know each other beforehand) and are supposed to take care that everyone behaves correctly during the period of carnival. In reality though, they mostly party a lot themselves and appear in the media several times. Furthermore the “Villacher Faschingsgarde” is an essential part of the parade. It describes a group of girls dressed in black and yellow uniforms that performs a typical dance during the parade.

I love celebrating Villacher Fasching. I mean, who wouldn’t? How great is it being granted permission to do whatever you want for an entire day? Usually I either throw a party myself or attend a friend’s party. After our little get-together we go out and celebrate in the city with all the other dressed up “Faschingsnarren”. We also have a few food traditions. Herring salad, fritters (=Krapfen) and a Carinthian specialty called “Fleischnudeln” (a dough made of potatoes filled with smoked meat) accompanied by sauerkraut and crackling (=Grammeln) are my personal favorites. 

So, if you haven’t had the chance to be a part of the Villacher Fasching yet, I highly recommend you to try it out at some point. With this in mind, LEI LEI!!!