Following the reformation, not only the period of fasting was dispensed with in the regions affected, but also the Fastnacht celebrations came to an end in many parts of Central Europe. Despite this, the tradition was still kept alive in individual protestant towns for some time. The Carnival of Basel is often presumed to be held at a later point than in other Swabian-Allemanic towns as a result of the reformation. In fact this is due to a decision made by the church in the 11th century, stating that Sundays were to be excluded from Lent. As a consequence, Ash Wednesday was preponed by six days. Basel (and also some other towns) however still held on to the traditional day.