Definitions of Common Mardi Gras Terms

Boeuf Gras: The fatted bull or ox, the ancient symbol of the last meat eaten before the Lenten season of fasting.

Captain: The absolute leader of each Carnival organization.

Carnival: Loosely translated as "farewell to flesh", the season of merriment which begins annually on Jan. 6, the Twelfth Night (the feast of the Epiphany), and ends at the midnight on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras Day). The Carnival season leads up to the season of Lent in which fasting replaces feasting.

Colors of Mardi Gras: Since Rex, the King of Carnival, selected them in 1872, the official colors of Mardi Gras have been purple, green and gold. While they were probably chosen simply because they looked good together, Rex assigned a meaning to each in his 1892 parade, entitled the "Symbolism of Colors", purple represents justice, green stands for faith and gold signifies power.

Court: The King, Queen, Dukes and Duchesses of a Carnival organization.

Date Origin of Mardi-Gras: Mardi Gras can occur on any Tuesday from February 3rd - March 9th. The fluctuating date was established by the Catholic church, which designated the "Gregorian Calendar" with a fixed date for Christmas, but with moveable dates for other religious holidays. Easter can fall on any sunday from March 23rd - April 25, and its exact date was set to coincide with the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. Mardi Gras is always scheduled 47 days before Easter. (The 40 days of lent and 7 Sundays)

Doubloons: Coin-like objects (usually made of aluminum or wood) bearing the Krewe's insignia on one side and their Ball theme on the reverse. Introduced in 1960 by Rex, created by a New Orleans local artist and inventor H. Alvin Sharpe.

Favor: A souvenir, given by Krewe members to friends attending the ball, normally bearing the organization's insignia, name and year of issue.

Invitation: A printed request for attendance at a Carnival ball, invitations are not-transferable.

King Cake: Traditionally king cakes are an oval-shaped (to show unity of all Christians), a sugared pastry decorated with the carnival colors (purple, green and gold). Some bakers also decorate the cakes in red to symbolize the life of Jesus. The King cake contains a plastic doll hidden inside. The person who finds the doll is crowned "king" and buys the next cake or throws the next party. The king cake season open on King's Day, Jan. 6, (12th night) the feast of the Epiphany which is observed by many Christian Churches. The king cake symbolizes the "circular route taken by the three wise men an their finding of the baby Jesus".

Krewe: The generic term for all Carnival organizations.

Lundi Gras: French for Fat Monday.

Mardi Gras: French for Fat Tuesday, the single-day culmination of the Carnival season.

Throws: Inexpensive trinkets tossed from floats by costumed and masked krewe members. Among the more popular items are krewe-emblemed aluminum doubloons, plastic cups and white pearl necklaces. Throws are tossed in response to the cry, "Throw me something, mister". The first newspaper account of "throws" was in 1871, Baubles were tossed off a float in the Twelfth Night Revelers parade in New Orleans. In 1970, glass beads from Czechoslovakia was replaced by plastic beads from Hong Kong. In 1979 the first krewe emblemed Mardi Gras cups was thrown in Metairie, La in the Krewe of Mardi Gras parade.

Created on ... January 21, 2006