Mardi Gras is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras means \u201cFat Tuesday\u201d in French. With Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of fasting before Easter, Mardi Gras is the \u201clast hurrah,\u201d with participants indulging in their favorite fatty foods and drinks before giving them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I may have mention here before that I had never been in a crowd that I thought I couldn\u2019t get our of if I wanted to \u2014 except \u2014 Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There were so many people, I absolutely couldn\u2019t move. I had never before, or after, experienced anything like it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most famous Mardi Gras celebrations is in New Orleans, but a lot of other places have their own festivals. The first Carnival celebration originated in Nice, France. Rio de Janeiro, Quebec City and Trinidad have famous Mardi Gras Carnivals, as well as Mobile, Alabama and St. Louis, Missouri. So a lot of places around the world celebrate Mardi Gras as the last day of Carnival season, which starts after Christmas, on January 6th (known as Twelfth Night.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needless to say, Mardi Gras is in a league of it\u2019s own \u2014 with its own rules, language, traditions, etc. The things I\u2019m about to describe are what I observed in New Orleans \u2014 I imagine they apply wherever Mardi Grans is celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll hear laissez les bon temps router (pronounced lay-say le bon tom rio-lay) over and over at Mardi Gras \u2014 it\u2019s the official greeting of Mardi Gras and means \u201clet the good times roll\u201d in Cajun French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Orleans has been celebrating Fat Tuesday with parades since 1837. The first floats appeared in the parade in 1857. Parades are planned by \u201cKrewes\u201d \u2014 organizations that put on parades and\/or balls for Mardi Gras\/Carnival. They are clubs of sorts, with dues ranging from $20 to thousands of dollars a year. Some krewes have been hosting Mardi Gras parades for years, others have formed more recently \u2014 most are named after Roman or Greek mythology. Each parade kicks off with the krew leader. Next comes the king or queen, followed by the maids and dukes, before the rest of the members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Krewes are also responsible for selecting carnival royalty in New Orleans, such as \u2018Rex.\u2019 the king of Mardi Gras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mardi Gras was ahead of its time in requiring masks\u2026. it is illegal to ride on a float without a mask. Of course these aren\u2019t COVID-style masks \u2014 the original purpose of the mask was to get rid of social constraints for the day, allowing people to mingle with whomever they chose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each float in a Mardi Gras parade is decorated differently to fit into a central theme, which can be anything from literature to humor. Most krewes start work on the following year\u2019s floats as soon as Fat Tuesday is over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beads were first thrown by Santa during a parade in the early 1900s. It wasn\u2019t until a few decades ago that they became synonymous with flashing. People also throw stuffed animals, toys and other stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, gold, and green. Purple signifies justice, gold means power, and green stands for faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
King\u2019s Cake, sometimes called the Three Kings Cake, is eaten throughout the world during carnival season. In the US, it is traditionally purple, green, and gold, with a trinket baby-Jesus inside. Whoever gets the baby Jesus is said to have good luck all year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mardi Gras in New Orleans will definitely be different in 2021\u2026. but the festivities haven\u2019t been completely cancelled. Fat Tuesday will take place today (February 16.) It won\u2019t be cancelled completely because it\u2019s a religious holiday, but parades and mass gatherings won\u2019t be happening.\u00a0
Nonetheless, I\u2019m sure New Orleans, and other places will be hopping \u2014 there\u2019s a saying in New Orleans, \u201cWe don\u2019t hide crazy, we parade it down the street.\u201d
Laissez les bon temps router \u2014 Let the good times roll!!!
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Mardi Gras is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras means \u201cFat Tuesday\u201d in French. With Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of fasting before Easter, Mardi Gras is the \u201clast hurrah,\u201d with participants … Continue reading