Fasching fascinates fewer Austrians

Fewer Austrians are celebrating Fasching this year, according to a poll.Linz-based research group Spectra found that 43 per cent of people living in Austria are celebrating the festival known as, Karneval in Germany and Carnival elsewhere this year. Surveys carried out one year ago revealed that two thirds of Austrians were doing so.Spectra said today, young people and women were enjoying the festival the most. The largest share of Fasching party-goers live in the north-eastern province of Lower Austria and in the eastern region of Burgenland. With 48 per cent, nearly one in two said they will attend Fasching parties this year. Residents of the federal capital Vienna were least interested, as only 39 per cent said they liked Fasching, Spectra explained.The agency also found that two out of three of those who celebrate Fasching love to dress up in costumes.Fasching traditionally starts in Austria at 11.11am on 11 November. The festival peaks on the days before Ash Wednesday, which marks its end. Kindergartens and most schools hold Fasching parties on Faschingsdienstag (Shrove Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday.