Rosenmontag
| Rosenmontag | |
|---|---|
| Significance | Highlight of Karneval before Lent |
| Date | Monday before Ash Wednesday |
| 2025 date | 3 March |
| 2026 date | 16 February |
| 2027 date | 8 February |
| 2028 date | 28 February |
| Frequency | annual |
Rosenmontag (German: [ˌʁoːzn̩ˈmoːntaːk] ⓘ; English: Rose-Monday) is the highlight of the German Karneval (carnival), and takes place on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras, though celebrated on Fat Tuesday, is a similar event.
Rosenmontag is celebrated in German-speaking countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium (Eupen, Kelmis), but most heavily in the carnival strongholds including the Rhineland, especially in Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen, and Mainz. In contrast to Germany, in Austria, the highlight of the carnival is not Rosenmontag, but Shrove Tuesday.
The name for the carnival comes from the German dialect word roose, meaning 'to frolic', and Montag, meaning 'Monday'.