On Mardi Gras day, the majority of non-essential businesses are shut down because of the celebration. Experienced revelers know to bring a large bag with them so they can haul away all the beads and trinkets they will catch from the parades! Every year, we get a lot of questions about how it all begin, and how the traditions have changed. Click on the buttons below to find out the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. When it became obvious to everyone that going forth with our usual something Mardi Gras parades in ….
Since then, dozens upon dozens of krewes have formed , each with its own unique history, customs, cultural affiliations, and parade themes.
Well, parades for weeks, actually. New Orleans' Mardi Gras very first parade took inspiration from the flamboyant pre-Lent Carnival festivals of Europe , where people have been donning wild masks and costumes to carouse in the streets for centuries.
Each New Orleans parade has its own unique local flavor depending on the krewe heading it up; in , thirteen parades occurred on the weekend of February 15th alone. You'll see the French Quarter festooned with these official colors of Mardi Gras every year.
Originally the hues of the Krewe of Rex aka the Rex Organization , aka the School of Design , a New Orleans krewe founded in , they've since become the palette of Carnival citywide. Each color is recognized to have its own meaning : Purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. From eye-obscuring tie-ons to full-face numbers that resemble a jester's getup, this is one of the traditions partly inspired by the customs of the Carnival of Venice. In the early days of the festival, male aristocratic krewe members and other celebrants wore the masks to protect their reputations amid the debauchery the less fortunate, and women, were reportedly judged for wearing them.
Mask use is even regulated by Louisiana law: It's actually illegal to wear them , and one of the few exceptions is for Mardi Gras. Throws are the baubles that krewes toss to the crowd from their parade floats and in more recent years, that those partying on the French Quarter balconies gift to passersby.
They include doubloons, the collectible coins krewes give out, and those infamous plastic beads. According to Time , these traditions likely began in the late s, when carnival kings would gift their "subjects" with the trinkets. New Orleans city workers unclogged 93, pounds worth of beads from city drains in Far more coveted as a souvenir and more sustainable?
Making their parade debut in the early s, the group has a rich— if disputed —history, and once boasted Louis Armstrong as their krewe king in The coconut collectibles and dazzling floats make their Fat Tuesday parade a can't-miss. Whether you keep them as souvenirs or recycle them , it's a big part of the fun. And don't worry, you absolutely do NOT have to flash anyone to secure your souvenir trinkets it's not a coconuts-for-coconuts situation.
In fact, locals will tell you that only French Quarter tourists flash, not the natives, so they wouldn't call that particular practice a tradition. The king cake is a circular carbs-laden treat with a surprise inside. Yet another tradition harkening back to Europe , other countries enjoy their own versions of it such as Mexico's rosca de reyes , England's twelfth night cake , or the galette des rois in France. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Christian Lent season leading up to Easter.
During Lent, many Christians fast, and the name Fat Tuesday refers to the last day of eating richer foods before the leaner days of Lent begin. In , Mardi Gras falls on March 5. On Tuesday, the streets of New Orleans will fill up with people dressed in costume tossing beads in honor of Mardi Gras.
In America, celebrations for Mardi Gras are most famous in New Orleans, where it is the conclusion of weeks of parades that begin in January. Other Southern cities, especially with French heritage, such as Mobile, Ala. The day is the culmination of the Carnival season, which begins on or after the Christian Feast of the Epiphany in January.
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