If you remember Fasching at Der Rathskeller, it means you must have been on campus between 1956 and 1980. If you remember it at Union South, then it means you were on campus in the mid-1990s. And if you remember Fasching at all, then it’s possible you never actually went. The Union described Fasching as “an ancient German drinking festival” and “uninhibited revelry,” indicating it was quite an assault on the brain cells. In southern Germany and Austria, Fasching is the local term for Mardi Gras or Carnival — the festival leading up to Lent. In December 1956, students held a German-themed pre-Christmas party and, for reasons unknown, called the event Fasching. In 1960, the students of the Union’s House Committee took control and moved the party to its traditional date. Faschings then ran until 1980, with live music and dancing and the Rathskeller decorated to look like Munich’s Hofbräu. In 1980, Fasching was discontinued, except for a brief revival at Union South, which made it a cultural mash-up by inviting the department of Latin American and Iberian studies to take part. There was no Fasching at the union this year, but there are plenty of activities available year-round, all of which provide some revelry, albeit possibly inhibited.  

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