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Last time when the Basler Fasnacht was cancelled was 1920, during the Spanish flu ...

Not completely correct. The street fest "Strassenfasnacht" was also canceled during World War 2. [1]

Interesting nugget! I looked it up and from what I read in 1920 the carnival was not cancelled but just postponed by four weeks.

Obligatory commonplace: History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes!