Cologne: Annual carnival kicks off

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Cologne: Annual carnival kicks off

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Germany's Carnival festivities kicked off on Thursday, as revellers celebrated the official start to the clownish parades to come.

04 March,2011 01:52 am

In Cologne the triumvirate of presiding fools, or Dreigestirn, took hold of the keys to the city and declared the fifth season to be open. According to the tradition of Weiberfastnacht, or the Wenches Carnival, hoards of women in the largely Catholic region descend on city halls to snip off mens ties.Brilliant sunshine warmed thousands of costumed revellers known as Narren in Colognes streets, where the years most popular outfits appeared to be disco queens and hippies.