There are many mysteries and myths surrounding the tradition of Mardi Gras (also known as Shrove Tuesday and Fat Tuesday). Below are but a few facts to help you fully enjoy the holiday and its meaning.
Carnival & Lent
The carnival season starts on epiphany (Twelfth Night) and lasts until Ash Wednesday and the dawn of the Lenten season. The word carnival comes from the latin carne meaning meat, thus translated it means shedding the flesh or "farewell to the flesh." If you have ever been witness to some the carnival celebrations throughout the world, you can testify to the shedding of inhibitions.The evening of January 6th was chosen as the start of carnival because Epiphany notes the end of the traditional twelve days of the Christmas Season. Despite what the retailers might have you believe, the period leading up to sunset Christmas Eve is NOT the Christmas Season but rather Advent or the coming. The Christmas Feast ends on the twelfth day of the season, heralding the arrival of the Three Wise Kings at the stable in Bethlehem.
Carnival itself is a mid-winter festival that certainly has some pagan roots. In ancient Europe, this time was seen as one to enjoy neighborly visits and pleasures since the harvest was over and next year's crop was yet to be planted. Additionally, short days, long nights and the cold weather of winter led people to look for celebrations in their lives. Just as Christianity embraced the solstice traditions of pagans in the Christmas celebration, the early Catholic church embraced some aspects of the pagan celebrations leading up to Lent.
Mardi Gras is the culmination of the Carnival Season. Ash Wednesday starts the traditional season of penance, so the final "farewell to the flesh" occurs on Mardi Gras day. Mardi Gras is a french phrase meaning Fat (gras) Tuesday (mardi).
King Cakes
Early carnival revelers started a tradition that lives on today: The tradition of the King Cake. Starting with a Twelfth Night party, a group of friends would gather with the host preparing a cake to go with the beverage (usually a hearty grog). A bean or small stone was placed inside of the cake and whoever received the piece with the bean in it would host the next king cake party. These parties would be held by this group throughout the carnival season, each time having the one chosen "king" hosting the next party. The origin of this tradition is lost somewhere in the sands of time, but surely fraternal traditions such as these are where the early krewes were born. Today the bean has been replaced with a porcelain or plastic baby (some say representing the Christ child?) and the cake is usually a round coffee cake (the shape of a crown) covered with a simple sugary icing and sometimes filled with cream or a fruit jelly.
Krewes, Balls & Parades
Krewes were formed in Europe hundreds of years ago to celebrate the carnival season. As the europeans settled the New World, their traditions, including Mardi Gras, came with them. Krewes reveled in the streets of New Orleans practically since the day it was founded. As a matter of fact, the day French-Canadian explorer Sieur d'Iberville and his men camped 60 miles south of New Orleans in 1699 happened to be Mardi Gras, March 3, so he named the place Pointe du Mardi Gras. The earliest area to celebrate Mardi Gras in the land that would become the United States was the French-Catholic area of the Gulf Coast. Specifically Mobile to Biloxi to New Orleans and into the region known as Acadiana.The word "krewe" roughly translates into the English crew, or "group of people." and certainly this is a great way to describe modern Mardi Gras krewes. Each krewe is a group formed by a common bond or interest. Often the commonality is nothing more than wanting to revel during carnival! But seriously, one of the oldest krewes in New Orleans, the krewe of Comus, was originally a secret society open only to white Anglo-Saxon protestants. Other krewes, like the Krewe of Rex in New Orleans, were originally aimed at elitist members of the community and aristocrats. Not to be outdone, legend has it that the Krewe of Zulu was formed as an all black krewe after a black man followed the float of the King of Rex, mocking him, in the early 1900s. In the early to middle part of this century, children's krewes and women's krewes starting forming. Today there are krewes in many different states representing a vast diversity of public and private interest and talent. There is a krewe only for dogs, the Krewe of Barkus, that raises funds for animal shelters and national humane societies. There are krewes that celebrate the family, krewes that celebrate alternative lifestyles and krewes that celebrate different political interests.
The idea of parading for Mardi Gras comes from the concept of a roaming party. This early style celebration is still in practice today in areas of the U.S. most notably in the Church Point/Mamou area of Louisiana. This celebration is known as the Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras run). The day starts out with a group (or krewe) of masked and costumed men gathering early in the morning on horseback and then proceeding through the countryside begging for ingredients to a communal gumbo to be prepared at the end of the day. The krewe is led by a costumed (yet unmasked) "Le Capitaine" (captain) and they stop at various houses begging for chicken, sausage, vegetables or anything for the gumbo. As the day wears on, the men generally imbibe heavily and the scene becomes raucous and comical as they scatter about a yard trying to capture a live chicken thrown to them by the resident of a house where they are begging. The day usually ends with a fais-do-do (dance) and a gathering to eat the communal gumbo.
The first krewe to hold an organized parade in New Orleans (in the modern era) was the Mystical Krewe of Comus. Their hooded revelers paraded the streets in a torch lit procession. Many other krewes have used the parade throughout the years as a way to celebrate and publicize themselves. Somewhere along the way, the tradition of the krewe of men gathering and begging items turned around one hundred and eighty degrees. The common tradition of modern krewe parades is to throw trinkets to the crowd. Some of the most popular items are elaborate strings of plastic beads, dollar sized aluminum coins called doubloons, and in New Orleans, the rare decorated coconut from the Krewe of Zulu. Every year, people gather in the streets to shout "Throw me something, Mister!"
Many Mardi Gras Balls and Tableaus today are designated only for the krewe members and their guests. Most of the early and traditional krewes treat the ball as a debutante event. Often the "royal court" (staying with the whole "king" theme) is chosen by selecting the King and his Dukes from the all male membership and selecting the Queen and her maids from the young ladies sponsored by krewe members. The royalty are usually presented in costume around a particular theme chosen by the Captain of the ball. Different krewes have different ways of choosing their court. Some use secret ballot by a board of directors, some use the traditional (king cake) random lot, others still use point systems and judging by an independent third party.
Of course many of the more modern krewes do not have balls that resemble the debutante structure. A krewe that has a membership comprised of all ladies will use a method to choose ladies to be presented in costume with perhaps their husband as their escort. The Krewe of Zulu allows the king to pick his own queen. Krewes celebrating alternative lifestyles often do not have the participants presented in pairs. And just how do you pick a king or queen for the Krewe of Barkus?
National & International
Celebrations
As mentioned before, the roots of Mardi Gras extend deeply into the Old World. Although the words Mardi Gras are French, there are carnival celebrations in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Additionally, when the New World was settled, the Catholic influence of the these countries combined with the voo-doo traditions of African slaves and pagan traditions of native North and South Americans to enliven and enrich the festival and celebration.One of the largest carnival celebrations takes place each year in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. This city was founded on January (Janeiro) 1, 1502 by Portugese expolores who mistook the bay for the mouth of a river (rio). The French settled this area as well but were later expelled. The influence of both of these cultures and their Catholic religion was combined with the native mid-summer revelry to produce a truly unique experience called Carnaval.
The French areas of North America that celebrate carnival do not only include the Gulf Coast. French Canada also recoginzes this pre-Lenten celebration. Their celebrations are more in line with the traditional parties and revelry of the Old World.
With the export of the "Cajun" Culture from Louisiana in recent years, many areas around the United States have started their own Mardi Gras celebrations. Every year, lawmakers in Washington D.C. have a special Ball and Celebration. The ski resorts of the Rocky Mountains have started their own celebrations in the past 30 years thanks to vacationing "Cajuns" that wished to take a piece of home with them. Even Gulf Coastal Texas has a "Mardi Gras" celebration. Oddly enough they celebrate on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. That would make it a "Samedi" (Saturday) Gras.
Actually, it doesn't matter where you are or how exactly you celebrate, the traditions of Carnival and Mardi Gras are a fabulous spectacle to behold. So put aside your inhibitions and join us as we say "farewell to the flesh."
Happy Mardi Gras!
