Glad to see the gators
haven't gotten you!
, and let me tell you about Mardi Gras. It
has a
rich history, but I won't get into that here.
I'll
get down to the nitty gritty info on the
world's
biggest party!
Let's see, the party
starts
about two to three weeks before Mardi Gras
day, or
"Fat Tuesday", which is the day before Ash
Wednesday.
You see, the catholics thought it would be a
good
idea to party really hard before they asked
for
forgiveness during the time of lent. It
might be a
good idea to give up food for lent, because
after
Mardi Gras, you may not feel like
eating!
The mardi Gras colors are
gold,
purple, and green. We have floats that hold
anywhere
from ten to one hundred people. All are
masked, and
they throw beads, cups, doubloons, panties,
etc. The
object is to collect as much stuff as you
can, but
some people just go to party, and don't worry
with
the throws.
Each parade is made up
of
paying members of a "Krewe", pronounced
"crew". The
Krewe of Endymion always has a celebrity as
the king,
and many other musicians, actors, etc. Rex
is the
king of carnival, and the king of that Krewe,
known
simply as REX, is a wealthy local businessman
of some
sort. Bacchus is huge, too, and a celeb is
the king
of that Krewe, also.
All other
parades, as
well, have a court, captain, king and queen
(no pun
intended). There is a hierarchy that goes
along with
the partying, if you haven't noticed. For
those of
you who have been to Mardi Gras, you know the
following. For those of you yet to grace us
with
your presence, here's the deal: The most
popular
saying during the season is "Show your
t_ts!"! If a
girl (or guy) flashes people on the balconies
above
Bourbon Street, they are usually thrown
"pearls",
which are very long, big beads, much coveted,
and the
longer the better, and the more you've shown!
Girls
are usually the ones to do the flashing, but
it's
started with the guys...just don't let the
cops see
you....they'll drag you in! Cops are pretty
cool,
and look the other way, but they won't
tolerate
abusive behavior. Some people don't realize
that
while it is a big party, and you are free to
do what
you please, you still must respect people and
their
property, and they wind up getting hauled off
in the
paddy wagon!
One big part of Mardi Gras is the
costumes worn. Some spend thousands on them,
and
show them off in all their glory! Some
elaborate and
elegant, some plain and funny. Everything
from The
Simpsons to Beavis and Butthead to aliens to
drag
queens can be seen. It's truly a blast.
HUNGRY?
Let's learn a little about cajun
cookin'...
Click HERE to go to the
crawfish
boil!
Email:
slidell@webtv.net
