A Carnival reveller protects himself from rain during a carnival parade called 'Schull- un Veedelszoech' as part of the carnival season on February 7, 2016 in Cologne, Germany. Carnival partying and parades, a centuries-old tradition in western and southwestern Germany, traditionally occurs in February and runs until Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, and culminates in Rose Monday parades and festivities. Police are on added alert this year, particularly in Cologne, due to the New Year`s Eve sex attacks on women that have been attributed to gangs of North African men, predominantly from Algeria and Morocco.