By: Robert Barrington, Ad Editor
Mardi Gras is a big holiday in New Orleans with music, parades, floats, great food, and an exciting good time. Mardi Gras is enjoyed every year, starting one month before Ash Wednesday, and building up until the night of Feb. 21 this year (Fat Tuesday). Businesses and roads are practically shut down, and people are in crazy costumes attending parties almost every night.
The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced back to medieval Europe, but the Mardi Gras celebrated in New Orleans can be traced back to 1718 where Louisiana’s Governor, The Marquis de Vaudreuil, established elegant society balls by the early 1740s. The parades and floats formed in 1800 with the establishment of “Krewes.” Most Mardi Gras Krewes today developed from private social clubs that had restrictive membership policies, and since they are all privately funded by its members, they still restrict membership and create their own floats and parades.
The throwing of trinkets to the crowds was started in the early 1870s by the Twelfth Night Revelers, and today they throw out anything from doubloons, beads, cups, and stuffed animals. Parades and the throwing of trinkets are what tourists see, but the real excitement for residents of Louisiana occurs at the formal and private balls for the Krewe. Debutantes are introduced at the Ball Tableau as a formal introduction to society, and the social ladder starts for the children serving as pages to the court. Attendance at the older, more aristocratic balls, is by invitation only, and many important people are not invited, including some governors who want to attend.
Each Mardi Gras Parade Krewe has a unique history and theme. Some have been around for decades, while others have been in existence for just a few years. Most tourists think of Mardi Gras as a big party where women show their breast for beads, and where people drink until they pass out. The real Mardi Gras is about tradition, the balls, fun of the parades, the celebrities, and the food of New Orleans. Most people enjoying Mardi Gras are families with young children, and the parades tend to be in the market and business area. The French Quarter is the oldest part of the city, and it houses art shops, antiques, and restaurants. Bourbon Street has become a Spring Break and partying district, and is best known for seeing women showing their breasts for beads, and drunks passed out, and should be avoided by families and those who would be offended by such things. Mardi Gras is a tradition, a big party, and a celebration to remember.
