Orden wider den tierischen Ernst

The Orden wider den tierischen Ernst (Order for Combating Deadly Seriousness) is a carnival order that is awarded once a year by the Aachen Carnival Association to public figures.

[1][2] The order of knights[2] honors people who combine "humor and humanity in office".

[3] The award ceremony traditionally takes place during a foolish ceremony (närrische Festsitzung).

[3] The WDR has been recording the ceremony for the first and third programs since 1995.

[4] In 2020 around 2.8 million people across Germany watched.

Orden wider den tierischen Ernst
Edmund Stoiber during the awarding of the Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, March 2000