For the first time, the street carnival in Cologne ended with an official Nubbel burning in front of the cathedral. The Nubbel, usually a straw doll, atones for the sins committed by people during carnival by being burned.
So far, the Nubbel burns have only occurred on a smaller scale in pubs, but on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Cologne Rose Monday procession this year, it was decided to give the whole thing a larger and nicer frame, said a spokesman for the Carnival Society “The Great of 1823”.
So far, not too many have noticed the nubbel burn, the spokesman said. “For many, the carnival is almost over with Shrove Monday. Only the hardened insiders then join in the nubbel burning.” Now you want to give the whole thing a more official character. “It should also be something that definitely has perspective for repetition.”
The Nubbel is traditionally burned in Cologne on the night of Ash Wednesday. The custom only emerged after the Second World War, but before that the nubbel was burned at the end of a fair. Also, if you don’t know where someone is in Kölsch, you say: “Dä es bei Nubbel!” (He’s at the Nubbel!)
