Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras, which means “Fat Tuesday” in French, is the name given to the celebration that takes place just before the beginning of the Christian period of Lent. This festival celebrates drinking and the eating of rich and fatty foods on the last day before the period of fasting and abstinence that begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days. Mardi Gras is also linked to the celebration of Shrove Tuesday, shrove coming from the word shrive, to confess, which marks a period self-examination and repentance among Christians all over the world. The period of Mardi Gras is also known as Carnival and involves parades, music, dance, costumes and colorful masks and traditions. In the United States, this celebration has its origins in the French Acadian culture in Louisiana, and today it is one of the most popular celebrations around the globe, celebrated by people of all faiths and heritages.

Brief History

The roots of Mardi Gras date back to ancient Roman fertility festivals that welcomed the arrival of spring. The Catholic Church later adopted some of these rituals and created Carnival as a period of merriment before the penitential season of Lent. Mardi Gras officially became a holiday in 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII placed it on the Gregorian calendar on the day before Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras was first celebrated in the United States on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and his brother Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, sent by King Louis XIV to defend France’s claim to Louisiana, reached land south of New Orleans and christened it “Point du Mardi Gras” in honor of the holiday. Bienville subsequently founded a settlement in Mobile, Alabama, in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana. During French and Spanish colonial periods, wealthy landowners celebrated their success during elaborate masked balls.

In 1703, Mobile celebrated the first Mardi Gras in America, and the first secret society of men, called a Krewe, was formed in 1711, as the Boeuf Gras Society. In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, and the Mistick Krewe of Comus was formed, invoking John Milton’s hero Comus to represent the society that celebrated Mardi Gras with a formal parade. Comus brought magic and mystery to New Orleans with dazzling floats known as tableaux cars and decadent balls. Newspapers began announcing Mardi Gras events in advance and printing photos of the fantastic parade float designs created in papier-mâché by Parisian artist Georges Soulié, who created all of the Carnival’s floats and costumes in New Orleans for forty years.

In 1872, Rex was introduced as King of the Carnival and presided over the first daytime parade to honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke. The Russian royal family colors of purple, green, and gold were introduced as the Carnival’s official colors and have remained so since. From 1873 onward, parade floats were constructed entirely in New Orleans instead of France. In 1875, the governor signed the Mardi Gras Act, making Mardi Gras a legal holiday in Louisiana.

Topic Today

The tradition of celebrating Fat Tuesday in New Orleans has expanded to such an extent that the city has now become synonymous with Mardi Gras, and the celebration is embraced by all residents of Louisiana. With the exception of cancellations during the world wars, Mardi Gras has been celebrated in New Orleans every year. Krewes have grown in number and variety, and their members are no longer anonymous and shrouded in mystery as they were. In 1941, the first women’s parade graced the streets of New Orleans with the inaugural pageant of the Krewe of Venus.

Almost all parades follow a standard format. The captain, or Krewe leader, appears at the head of the procession on a special float, in a convertible, or on horseback. Next come the officers, the King or Queen, followed by the title float and then the floats that carry riding members. In addition to the elaborate floats, costumes, and masks, inexpensive souvenirs called throws are tossed to festivalgoers who eagerly collect the beads, coins, and collectible plastic cups that have become characteristic of Mardi Gras. Every year, a new King of the Carnival, Rex, is chosen from among the prominent people of New Orleans. He is given the symbolic Key to the City by the Mayor.

In the Catholic religion, the Mardi Gras season typically begins on January 6, during the Feast of the Epiphany. King cakes, which are in the shape of a crown and contain a small figurine, are served, and the person who receives the piece with the figurine inside is crowned King and thought to have good luck for the year.

Since the 1960s, Mardi Gras festivities have become increasingly diverse. The African American community of New Orleans has several distinctive carnival customs. The largest African American Krewe of Mardi Gras is the Zulu, whose floats are considered one of the premier attractions of the parade. Another important African American carnival tradition is the annual appearance of the Mardi Gras Indians, groups of men who dance through the streets in costumes inspired by the traditional clothing of Native Americans.

In rural Lousiana, Mardi Gras is now viewed as a Cajun French custom known as the Courir de Mardi Gras—the Mardi Gras Run—where a parade of costumed men on horseback playing music goes from house to house to dance and entertain the owners in exchange for ingredients to make a gumbo at the end of the day (rice, chickens, sausage, flour, and so on). Each rural region has its own run.

Today, Mardi Gras is one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions, drawing millions from around the world during the days leading up to Fat Tuesday. Economists estimate that Mardi Gras generates more than half a billion dollars for the local economy in Louisiana each year. In addition to New Orleans, other cities that are famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations are Nice, Québec City, and Rio de Janeiro.

Bibliography

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