""Alaaf" is the easiest to explain," said Georg Cornelissen, from the Institute of Regional Studies and History in Bonn. The origin of the Cologne 'fool's call' - which today is also heard in Bonn and Aachen - is well-documented. Old clay jugs have been found in Cologne, dating back to around 1550, with "Allaf" written on them."
""This was a cheer, a drinking word that had nothing to do with carnival and meant 'may he live well'," the linguist explained. Literally, "All af" meant alles ab - everything down, or everything else falls below it. The cry referred to the bishop, the mayor, or the Cologne region, so people also called "All af Kölle" - everything else under Cologne, meaning "Cologne above everything else". Today, people also call "Kölle Alaaf"."
Different regional cries accompany Carnival across Germany, including 'Alaaf' and 'Helau'. 'Alaaf' traces to Cologne, attested on 16th-century clay jugs as "Allaf" and originally used as a drinking cheer meaning "may he live well" and literally "alles ab" (everything down), implying "Cologne above everything else." The reversed form "Kölle Alaaf" is preferred for ease of shouting. By the 19th century Carnival participants identified as jesters (Jecken) adopted the cry. 'Alaaf' spread regionally, displacing 'Helau' at a linguistic boundary; 'Helau' remains traditional in Düsseldorf and Mainz but its origins are unclear.
Read at The Local Germany
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