Green, purple and yellow beads along with colorful masks are typically the things which come to mind when a person thinks of Mardi Gras. Globalpost.com even calls it “The best party Christianity ever adopted.” For what reason is this so? Why is “Fat Tuesday” such a celebration?
Lupercalia, an ancient Roman celebration, was very similar to what we know as Mardi Gras tradition. Romans started to include Christian aspects to the previously pagan ritual. It evolved into a joyous celebration prior to Lent and its fasting on Ash Wednesday. Names developed for Ash Wednesday such as “Fat Tuesday,” “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras”. In 1699, the French brought Mardi Gras to the United States where New Orleans is today, making it a grand annual celebration. In the late 1700s, celebrations in that area were banned by the Spanish, but the US took control and again allowed festivities and celebrations.
The first documented New Orleans Mardi Gras Parade took place in 1837. The celebration started getting violent causing its popularity to rapidly decline. The Comus organization came to the rescue to save Mardi Gras and helped the celebration gain tremendous success in following years.
According to Globalpost.com, beads, spicy cuisine and King Cake are all essential ingredients to a “true” Mardi Gras. Beads give the celebration a complete, spiritual feel with their bright colors. Jambalaya is extremely special to the New Orleans population. It consists of chicken, onions, peppers, garlic, sausage, cayenne pepper, tomato paste, shrimp and rice and usually is spiced up with unique family traditions. King Cake celebrates the night of which the Wise Men visited Jesus and typically contains a baby, coin or bean figurine. When someone finds the baby figurine, he or she is referred to as the “King.” With this title, the “King” gets pride and the bill of the cake for the next year making the King Cake a fun Fat Tuesday tradition.
Lots of things come together every year to make Mardi Gras a fun and unique holiday for Christians all over the year. Its traditions and originality make it a truly one-of-a-kind a day to always be celebrated with beads, masks and parade-filled floats.
Sources Used:
http://www.eastjeffersonparish.com/culture/MARDIGRA/HISTORY/history.htm