The Carnival of the Animals and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the work as a piece of fun. On 9 February 1886 he wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" (). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the École Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. A second (private) performance was given
Mainz carnival to use for the next 50 years. In later years many new associations arose: the "Mombacher Carneval Verein" (1886), the "Gonsenheimer Carneval Verein" (1892) and the Carnival association „Eiskalte Brüder“ (1893). As Guards, the "Mainzer Prinzengarde" (1884), the "Prinzessgarde" (1886), renamed in 1933 as "Guard of the Princess", the "Mombacher Prinzengarde" (1886) and the "Jocus-Garde" (1889) were added. Traditionally, carnival season in Mainz begins on November 11 at 11:11, and continues through Ash Wednesday. However, the event peaks in February or March in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday. During the 19th century celebrants began using the carnival as