MARDI
GRAS
Carnival
begins on the Feast of Epiphany or the twelfth night (January 6th)
and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday, determined by the date of
Easter. It celebrates the arrival of the three kings at Jesus'
birthplace, thus ending the Christmas season.1
The gifts that the kings brought with them may be the reason for the
gifts of the Mardi Gras season, trinkets such as cups, beads and
doubloons. But the tradition of throwing trinkets during parades
began in the 1870's by the Twelfth Night Revelers and remains a time
honored tradition in New Orleans. The parade goers traditionally
scream “Throw Me Something, Mister” to plead for the trinkets,
and in New Orleans and other cities, women often bare their breasts
to show themselves deserving and to garner the attention of the
throwers. For good, family oriented Mardi Gras, Shreveport is a great option. The Krewe of Sobek starts off the season with their annual parade. They are dedicated to bringing the Mardi Gras experience to the inner city. Their goals are to support organizations that provide a helpful hand to those in need within our community, take part in charitable and non-political civic causes, provide fellowship among members of the community and participate in various parades and celebrations in the Louisiana area. Next, the Krewe of Harambee take to the streets for their annual Mardi Gras/MLK Day Parade. The Krewe of Harambee's goal is to increase minority participation during the Mardi Gras season and support charitable organizations. The annual Highland Parade is well known as a kid friendly event. And, who wouldn't want to participate in the annual Barkus and Meow event, designed especially for our four legged friends? Two large parades in Shreveport are the Krewe of Centaur and the Krewe of Gemini ; both boast a more raucous crowd, but also have designated family areas along the route.
Not surprisingly, Mardi Gras has its roots in paganism of the
ancient Greeks and Romans celebrating fertility rites, but it was
adopted by the Catholic church as a way to prepare the people for
Lent. The leaders of the church quickly realized that it would be
easier to allow some type of traditional festivals rather than
abolish them altogether, while still bringing the people to
Christianity. So they acquiesced to this period of raucousness.
During Medieval festivals, participants donned costumes, and that
tradition continues today. The first American Mardi Gras was
celebrated near New Orleans in 1899, therefore, New Orleans became
the obvious city to host modern day celebrations, and they continue
to be the main American host city for parties and parades. But, the
celebrations are taking hold across the United States and moving to
northern Louisiana and east and west across the Gulf states. The
larger Louisiana cities such as Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Shreveport
are all areas with full Mardi Gras schedules. It should be noted
that the city does not put on the events, they just issue the parade
permits. Events are put on and funded by private organizations,
called Krewes. These Krewes select royalty, hold balls (usually
closed to the public), and often organize the massive parades.
Purple, Green and Gold symbolizing Justice, Faith and Power are the
official colors of Mardi Gras and were selected by the Grand Duke
Alexis Romanoff of Russia when he visited New Orleans in 1872. A
little known fact is that the colors he chose impacted the colors of
two arch rival Louisiana College football teams. The stores stocked
up on fabric for the official Mardi Gras colors, and Louisiana State
University purchased a large amount of the purple and gold colors
leaving only the green in stock. Tulane University then chose the
green for their uniforms, and today their colors are green and white.
The King Cake, on the other hand, has its roots in the fact that the
wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. The King Cake is a sweet yeast
cake covered in poured sugar in the Mardi Gras colors and usually has
a plastic baby hidden inside. Long ago the queen was selected by
which lady found the baby in the cake. In modern day, the tradition
is that the person who finds the baby has to buy the next King Cake
or host the next King Cake party. In recent years, cakes no longer have the baby hidden; that's something you have to do yourself. In the days of law suits and frivolous litigation, company's are not willing to bear the burden of such a threat, so they just lay the baby on top. They've also made it much larger than it was in years past, to decrease the risk of accidentally swallowing the plastic trinket.
As
for floats and parades; in 1833 a wealthy plantation owner near New
Orleans solicited money to help finance an organized Mardi Gras
celebration, and in 1837 the first parade was held. But, it wasn't
until two years later in 1839 that one single float rolled through
the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras and thus began the
tradition of floats in the parades.2
Mardi Gras comes to a close in Shrevport-Bossier City tonight when the Krew of Aesclepius parade rolls through the Louisiana Boardwalk and revelers later meet on the Texas Street Bridge for a final toast. The Krewe of Aesclepius parade begins at 7 pm at the Boardwalk. At midnight, revelers will gather on the bridge for an Ash Wednesday ceremony that will mark the beginning of Lent. There will be champagne, followed by a closing prayer by a priest.
I hope you've enjoyed your history lesson and take the time to
peruse the websites listed in the footnotes to learn more about this
season rich in tradition. And, as you're making travel plans for 2017, consider Shreveport for Mardi Gras. Happy Mardi Gras!
1http://www.nola.com/mardigras/about/index.ssf?/mardigras/about/content/history.html
2Http://www.novareinna.com/festive/mardi.html
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