What is Mardi Gras?

Masks... Crowns... Beads... oh Captain... King Cake... Parades...
Crazy Parades with giant headed floats and tourism that powers entire cities like New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro.

Mardi Gras is an amazing carnival celebration that fills an entire season between Christmas and Lent. Mardi Gras is a cultural celebration directly connected to religion.

French Christian in heritage, Mardi Gras is where ever France has explored or Frenchmen have settled. Cajun Louisiana, Quebec Canada and Rio-de-Janeiro, Brazil are some of the best known celebrations.

The masks, beads, music and dancing that begins twelve days after Christmas on Kings Day. (Also called Epiphany this is the day Christians believe the Three Wise Men actually arrived to baby Jesus.) Mardi Gras continues until Fat Tuesday. (Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.)

So where did this crazy tradition come from?

Like most modern holiday celebration the truth is a complicated medley of traditions that have evolved through the ages. Anyone familiar with Mardi Gras will tell you that there is no official, completely correct truth about Mardi Gras. It is something that belongs to the people and everyone has their own history to tell but the common story goes something like this:

Modern Mardi Gras is essentially a Christian heritage celebration during which people get out their crazies before the disciplined and restraint of 40 days of Lent.

Many of the carnival activities have evolved from pagan Roman rituals through Middle Ages traditions into the Mardi Gras of today.

In Roman times February was the time of a circus like holiday known as Lupercalia which celebrated the wolf raised brother who founded the city of Rome. As Christianity took hold it was easier to modify many pagan traditions that to extinguish them and Christians used the pagan festivals to cloak their own worship.

Medieval France embraced the pre lent festivities and during the middle ages it became traditional for Lords to induct new Knights into their service with lavish honorary feasts during this season. Not unlike the modern roast this was a time when peasants were welcomed to openly mock their landlord and poke fun at the political rulers.

The peasants costumed themselves in giant mocking heads to poke fun and in the joyful spirit of celebrating the lords and rulers gave out pies, cakes and at times even coins to the merrymakers.

Of course the excitement of Mardi Gras has more than once been blamed on the devil and governing bodies have tried to squash it out. When New Orleans came under Spanish rule in the 1800's Mardi Gras was banned but the prohibition lasted less than 30 years before the Creoles convinced the governor to allow masked celebrations to return to the street.

Cajun Mardi Gras Today

These traditions carry on today with the elaborate floats and parades and the tremendous feasts that take place during the celebrations of Mardi Gras.

Most Cajun Americans have a tale or two to tell about Jambalaya parades where folks go from house to house trying to get ingredients including chickens to make spicy Jambalaya.

Of course you don't have to be in New Orleans, Rio or Quebec to enjoy modern Mardi Gras. Grab some glitter, through up some purple, green and gold streamer and invite all your neighbors into your living room or the street to feast drink and be merry!