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Millions flock to Carnival street parades across Germany

Millions of dressed-up revelers and schoolchildren took to the streets across Germany on Monday to celebrate Carnival with elaborate costumes, chocolates and fervor. Shrove Monday’s street parades in traditional Carnival strongholds like Cologne, Duesseldorf and Mainz in western Germany were drawing huge crowds of locals and tourists alike.

Schools were closed throughout the region so children could attend the popular street parades that have floats, brass bands and dance groups who throw candy, chocolates and flowers to spectators. The costly, intricately built floats often feature huge, unflattering puppets of politicians, making fun of those in power.

Among the most daring floats was one with a naked U.S. President Donald Trump in the claws of a gigantic brown bear with the slogan “Russia scandal” written across his side. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was depicted as a black widow spider with blood-covered lips killing all her male competitors — whose names were written across little grey skulls lying in front of her.

At the Cologne street parade alone, parade participants plan to throw 700,000 bars of chocolate and 300,000 bouquets of flowers to spectators, the German news agency dpa reported. (AP)

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