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Mardi Gras was celebrated in Europe long before the settling of the New
World.
After a brief rule by the Spanish, France regained control and
soon after, in 1803, Napoleon sold
Louisiana to the United States. The 85 years of combined French and Spanish
rule resulted in a strong European cast to the settlements established in
this part of the country, which were carried through by their Creole
inheritors.
Literally meaning
Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday—the beginning of
Lent. The Mardi Gras season officially starts each year on
January 6, or
Twelfth Night, also called the
Feast of the Epiphany. The actual date of Mardi Gras falls
on a different day each year but always 46 days before Easter. It can
fall as early as February 3 or as late as March 9.
Originally celebrated by early explorers on the banks of the
Mississippi River, the break-out of riots in 1856 threatened to end Carnival
traditions altogether in the growing port city of New Orleans.
That same year, a group of transplanted citizens from the city of
Mobile, who were members of a marching/ball society calling themselves the
Cowbellions, met in the third-floor room of a pharmacy
in the
Vieux Carre and decided to form a carnival society of
their own here in New Orleans. They also decided to field a tableaux display
consisting of marchers in elaborate papier-mâché costumes, and three floats.
They fashioned themselves as a royal court in the traditions of Old England,
even adapting the word "crew" in Chaucerian fashion so that it came out,
forever afterward, as "krewe". They chose to represent themselves with the offspring of the
Greek god Bacchus and the sorceress Circe, as filtered through the poetry of
John Milton. Thus was born the
Mystick Krewe of Comus.
In 1872, the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff came to New
Orleans and the city's society geared up to put on an elaborate show. The
Krewe of Rex was born to host a big daytime parade. The
Grand Duke's favorite tune at the time "If I Ever Cease to Love You" was played that day and is now considered
the traditional Mardi Gras anthem. It was also at this time that Rex,
now the King of Carnival, presented
the season with its official colors:
Purple (justice),
Gold (power), &
Green (faith).
Krewes before Rex had handed out parade favors to certain
individuals at selected points along their routes. But in 1920, Rex began
the practice of tossing beads and toys to parade goers. Every organization
since has followed this tradition, adding new trinkets periodically;
Rex introduced doubloons in 1960, and
cups became popular in the 1980s, along with the increasingly popular
medallion beads.
King Cake
Tradition
In New Orleans, Creoles adopted the French Twelfth Night cake
tradition. On Twelfth Night,
Tradition has now evolved through to obligate the person who
receives the baby (inside every King Cake!) to continue the festivities by
hosting another king cake party.
Mardi Gras 2008 will be held on February
5th |
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Copyright ©2008 |
