Fastenzeit is the name given to the time of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter.  During this time people avoid eating meat, although in some families this is extended to eating sweets and listening to music, or drinking alcohol.

In some areas of Germany, people are not supposed to laugh on Good Friday, or dance between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Tags: Fasten, fastenzeit, Fasting

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• Aschermittwoch
• Karneval – Fasching – Fastnacht

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Carnival, Easter, German Words Explained, Podcasts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.