No -this is carnival like in New Orleans. In catholicism -and the south of Germany is very catholic- there is a time of lent 40 days before Easter. Before it starts everyone wanted to feast for the last time. This is where carnival comes from. This christian idea has been mixed with the earlier pagan spring rites (like the Roman Saturnalia) when people fought the winter demons. So in some towns in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland you can still see these demons with their wooden masks at carnival. They make a lot of noise because this will fight winter.