These are the official colors of Mardi Gras, famously celebrated in New Orleans, Louisiana. The name "Mardi Gras" translates to "Fat Tuesday", which was originally a Catholic holiday celebrated on the last Tuesday before Lent (a time of sobriety and fasting) by consuming the last meat and alcohol in the home. This often became a time of overindulgence by Catholics, and when the French-Catholic settlers came to New Orleans in the early 1700s, this Fat Tuesday, or "Mardi Gras", celebrations became an extravagant holiday.
Traditional Mardis Gras practices include dressing in costumes and masks, playing and listening to varieties of Jazz music, and taking the opportunity to participate in some mayhem! Jazz music is blared throughout the entire city by marching bands and on floats in the gigantic parade. Everyone wears costumes and masks in order to keep their identities secret while they participate in this holiday of overindulgence. Mardis Gras is also an opportunity for blatant and over-the-top cross-dressing as part of the celebration.
Krewes (pronounced like crews? I'm not sure.) keep the Mardis Gras celebrations alive. They are private clubs that organize and sponsor the parade and other traditional events like balls and dances. Krewes formed when people began to worry that the outrageous antics of Mardis Gras celebrations would be outlawed.
Souvenirs of Mardis Gras are, of course, the beaded necklaces thrown from the floats during the parades, but also include different styles of cups and "doubloons", or coins, all decorated with different Krewe symbols. However, prizes thrown from floats can be quite valuable. Many people cherish the rare hand-painted coconuts of the Zulu Krewe.
Most of this information is paraphrased from this website.
I think that Mardi Gras is an incredibly culturally diverse holiday and is an important icon within the American nation. Even though it began as a celebration of a Catholic tradition, it has come to mean much more than that to so many people. I believe this is a great example of how the traditions of one culture (in this case, French-Catholics) can open doors of tradition and celebration for many more cultures, and even people who claim no culture in particular.
I got the idea for Mardis Gras from my traditional practice of Lent. Lent is a tradition that I do celebrate because I think it serves as an important reminder to me of just what things in this world are truly important and how thankful I should be for the life of plenty I lead. It serves as a time of reflection on my faith and religious beliefs.
However, I am not Catholic so Fat Tuesday was never really a holiday for me and I wanted to know more about it!
Interesting details. I like how you found something that you were interested in, and dug in! I grew up in a very Catholic family, so this is not 'new' to me. It is very much a part of how I grew up. In fact, the Catholic churches in Dickinson (there are 4 very large churches there) hold a Mardi Gras event every year. It is so interesting to see who attends. Most people think it is just the Catholics, but that is untrue. Everyone attends Mardi Gras there. Good work!
ReplyDelete