This year was my first time spending the Lunar New Year away from my family and outside of the United States. My mother’s family is Chinese, and we usually celebrate together and eat Chinese meals as a family. Coincidentally, the first day of the Lunar New Year also fell on Karneval! My friend and I travelled to Frankfurt, and we got to experience the childrens’ parade at Römerberg and enjoy some delicious dim sum.
I learned about how Germans celebrate Carnival, which may be referred to as Karneval, Fasching, or Fastnacht. My friend and I attended a ceremony at Römerberg (the town hall square, or Rathausplatz, in Frankfurt), where the "foolish" Karneval Prince and Princess storm the Römer, and the Lord Mayor hands over key to the city. Many people and their children attending were dressed up in costumes. Cannons with blank charges were set off in celebration before the processsion of the children's parade.
After the ceremony, my friend and I went to get lunch at a dim sum restaurant. There are no dim sum restaurants in Karlsruhe, so I am really glad that Frankfurt has a few. Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine that involves serving a variety of small portions of food.
