THE THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
In a normal year, people in Louisiana would be donning green, gold, and purple, and heading out to parade routes.
But in 2021, there will be no parades in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Don’t think that will stop people from celebrating.
Canceling Mardi Gras in the people of New Orleans would be like canceling Christmas in me. That’s just not going to happen.
It’s not parades, (or Black Friday shopping) that define the holidays.
It’s the spirit and traditions.
Where I put out the decorations and did my Christmas baking like in any year.
You can bet there will be King Cakes and gold, green, and purple banners throughout New Orleans.
There will be Mardi Gras Music and possibly a Sazarac or rum punch or two.
You can not stop the Spirit of Mardi Gras in New Orleans any time of the year.
What is Mardi Gras?
Today, we generally associate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) with the events leading up to Lent.
But Mardi Gras is not an American creation.
Its roots may go back as far as the Roman Republic (circa 130 B.C.) and the celebrations of Saturn. Being the god of agriculture, there were festivals and offerings honoring the god and celebrating spring. This celebration is Saturnalia.
The Romans would also honor Saturn in mid-December when they were getting ready to sow the winter crops. The entire village would stop and honor Saturn on the winter Solstice, occurring on December 25. (The Julian calendar.)
So the Romans are celebrating from December 25 until the beginning of spring. In A.D., this celebration would gradually associate itself with the time between Christmas and Easter.
Carnival is not only a Catholic celebration but is an important celebration to the Anglican church as well.
England Marti Gras.
On the final day of the season, many traditional Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Roman Catholics, take time for self-examination.
The word shrive, means to administer the sacrament of confession; to absolve. So Mardi Gras is Shrove Tuesday in these religions.
Marti Gras in the Czech Republic.
In Old Czech, Masopust means “meat fast” or the day you stop eating meat. The celebration, dating to circa 13th century, is when you say goodbye to winter and celebrate the rebirth of spring. You do this through parties and parades. Colorful costumes, or a mask, are all you need. With any festival, there is drinking, eating and later singing, and dancing.
In the villages, they carry out door-to-door processions delivering health, joy, and happiness to every household.
The villages of the Hlinecko area, two hours east of Prague, are on the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Baltic Marti Gras.
Fettisdagen (Shrove Tuesday) is the Tuesday between Shrove Monday and Ash Wednesday in Sweden.
As Lent begins the next day, the tradition is to eat a fastlagsbullar bun or Semla, the day before. Originally, this was the only day you could eat this version.
Traditionally, it is a bun they open and fill with sweet cream. Today, there are as many versions as ways to pronounce it.
In Sweden, you may find a wheat bun with a filling of milk and almond paste.
In Finland for fastlagstisdagen, the bun may have a filling of strawberry or raspberry jam in place of almond paste.
Norway celebrates Fastelavnsbolle on Sunday with cardamom-spiced wheat buns with whipping cream and jam.
Denmark’s Fastelavn is a Sunday treat and is usually a puff pastry with whipping cream filling, sugar icing, and jam.
At home, people may make a wheat yeast roll with raisins and candied citrus peel.
In Iceland, they use choux pastry which puffs up from steam instead of yeast. They call it Bolludagur (Bun day) and celebrate on Sunday.
Marti Gras in Germany.
Italy Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras is Martedì Grasso (Fat Tuesday), and it is the main day of Carnevale. But Carnevale may run a few days to a month, depending on where in Italy you are visiting.
Giovedí Grasso (Fat Thursday), is the Thursday before Fat Tuesday and is usually the start of the biggest celebrations.
All the celebrations seem to consist of colorful costumes, food, drink, and dancing like no one is watching.
But the celebrations in the north vary from those in the south.
Venice’s Le Maschere (the masks) dates from 1296 A.D. and lasts two weeks.
The Putignano Carnival is the longest-lasting in Italy beginning on December 26th, St. Stephen’s Day. In 1394, the Knights of Malta arrive in Putignano with the relics of St. Stephen. This was cause for celebration and it happens every December to Lent.
The Carnival of Viareggio lasts four weeks and features giant papier-mache caricatures of cultural and political figures.
Ivrea, an hour north of Turin, ends its Carnivale with the three day Battle of the Oranges. It is one of the biggest food fights in Italy to watch.
The Carnivale of Acireale, just north of Catania Sicily, is famous for folk poets, elaborate floats, and costumes. It is so popular that they repeat it in August.
France Mardi Gras.
The French Mardi (Tuesday) Gras (fat) is probably thanks to the House of Bourbon. The French Royal House would marry several Italian Royal or Noble families, who would bring their traditions with them.
Like elsewhere, it means a period of eating rich, fatty foods before Lent. It also includes public celebrations and parades (les carnavals.) These celebrations take place all over France. Villages and smaller towns hold on to the traditions of feasting, costumes, and singing.
The Nice Carnival, is one of the last big city festivals. During the parade, they throw flowers from the floats, and spectators also throw flowers.
Mardi Gras Alabama Style.
So, Mardi Gras did not start in New Orleans. In fact, the first Mardi Gras in the United States does not take place in Louisiana.
French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Bienville establishes Fort Louis de la Louisiane in 1702. The following year, the settlement with its new name, Fort Louis de la Mobile, celebrates the first Mardi Gras.
In Mobile, they start Mardi Gras–associated social events in November. The first Mystic Society Ball takes place on Thanksgiving. The next one is New Year’s Eve. January and February host parades and balls increasing in number right before Ash Wednesday.
New Orleans Mardi Gras History.
In 1718, the French name the settlement of La Nouvelle-Orleans.
Mardi Gras in the United States begins on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany, Three Kings Day. Like most celebrations, it ends the day before Ash Wednesday.
Ask any resident of Louisiana who has the best Mardi Gras and they will name their town. The festival season varies from city to town.
In New Orleans, it begins after Twelfth Night, while some towns only celebrate the last three days.
Louisiana’s governor, the French Marquis de Vaudreuil, establishes elegant society balls, circa 1740.
The earliest reference in writing to a “Carnival” does not appear until 1781 in a report to the Spanish governor.
Mardi Gras Parades.
Carnival celebrations in New Orleans were mostly taking place in the Roman-Catholic Creole community. Parades were not part of the original celebration and they only took place irregularly.
English-born James Caldwell builds the city’s first gasworks in 1834. The first gas-lit streets are in the French Quarter. It is here where evening parades and partying begins.
In 1856, six young men from Mobile form the Mistick Krewe of Comus, a hero from John Milton’s writing. Wearing masks to hide their identity, they would bring magic and mystery through masked events like balls. It was important for Krewe members to remain anonymous for the magic.
The first Mardi Gras parade takes place a year later with dazzling tableaux cars (floats.)
The King.
Circa 1872, local New Orleans businessmen create a King of Carnival giving him the regal name Rex. They create the Rex Organization (The School of Design) which is responsible for many of Mardi Gras’ traditions.
The first king chooses the royal colors. Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. The krewes would toss throws to people exhibiting the color’s meaning.
Rex’s Proclamation invites his subjects to the grand celebration of Carnival.
“If Ever I Cease to Love,” a song from the first parade is now the Carnival’s anthem.
Rex and his Queen preside over the Rex Ball, Carnival’s glittering conclusion.
The King Cake.
A tradition from France that also began around the time of the first king.
Originally, the cakes were a simple ring of braided dough with sugar toppings in the traditional Mardi Gras colors.
Today, they conceal a plastic baby, just small enough to choke on, in a breakfast pastry-like cake. Still with three colors of sugar on top, but now in 60 or more flavors.
The person getting the piece with the baby has to supply the next cake.
Beads and Trinkets.
The tradition of bead throwing also comes from the first king.
Originally tossing sugar-coated nuts, they began to toss beads in the three colors.
The original beads are glass. Obviously at a time before personal injury lawyers. It did not take long before they were making the beads from plastic.
Today, they throw big and small beads, doubloons, and other treasures. Beads still rule.
Mardi Gras Today.
Today, there are more than 50 krewes, each one with its own parade. Other service groups also host parades.
There are numerous parade routes. Part of the French Quarter route is along Chartres.
The Uptown route includes St Charles Avenue.
The exact route varies but these are the two most popular areas.
Metairie and Slidell also host several parades.
In 2022, there will be more than 70 parades starting in early January through Fat Tuesday.
In the beginning, they are on weekends and sometimes only one a day. By the week leading up to Mardi Gras, they are almost daily.
On Fat Tuesday there are eleven separate parades, including the two royal parades, Zulu and Rex.
Endymion, Baccus, and Orpheus, famous for their floats, are on Saturday, Sunday, Monday (respectively) before Fat Tuesday.
They are great parades but I prefer the ones the week before.
Not for the floats, not for the throws, but the people.
There are tourists at all parades. However, the parades prior to the last four days of Mardi Gras seem, to me, to have more locals.
Hotel rates and reservations at restaurants also seem less cutthroat.
Warning, some of these parades have less traditional themes.
The Krewe of Chewbacchus is a mix of sci-fi and horror.
Athena, Poseidon, and Perseus have their own krewes.
Dogs have the Barkus and Paws of Olde Town krewes representing them.
The prize throw from the Krewe of Bosom Buddies and Breast Friends are bras they hand-decorate.
What happens at Mardi Gras…
So it’s not just a party where everybody exposes themselves?
As with any event, it is the ones behaving poorly that make the news.
Along Bourbon street, you will find many people who may be feeling no pain or displaying signs of poor judgment.
Exposing yourself for beads has never been, and will never be a proclamation of Rex’s.
It is also against the law so if you must do it, I suggest not next to a policeman.
Come for the fun, the food, and the festivities.
If you are up for international travel, they are celebrating from Moscow to Venice to Rio.
The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list includes Carnivals from all over. Just a few of these include Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, and more.
If you want to celebrate Mardi Gras a little closer to your home you can.
Alabama and the rest of Louisiana have many festivals to offer.
Some of the smaller ones are more traditional. Look at Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Eunice, Lafayette, and more.
The Krewe of Barkus and Meoux parade in Shreveport is on my to-do list. Party and help animals suffering from abuse, neglect, or homelessness is a no-brainer in my book.
Iowa Louisiana hosts a Cajun Mardi Gras complete with a parade, zydeco music, and a community gumbo. What’s not to like?
Why not plan a trip down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico in 2022?
Read more about New Orleans.
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“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.