What is the history of Mardi Gras?

In French, Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday as a last "fling" prior to the 40 days of Lent which precede Easter. Lent is a word that comes from the Middle English word "lente" which means "springtime" - so named for the season of the year in which it usually occurs. While the practice of Lent is not mentioned in the Bible, it has been a tradition in the Christian world since the mid 4th century.It seems to parallel the 40 days of fasting in the wilderness that Jesus experienced following his baptism.

Lenten fasting became mandatory, especially abstinence from eating meat, when recommended by St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in 330 AD. By the Middle Ages Lent was enforced throughout Europe, especially the forbidding of meat during the final weeks before Easter. The word "carnival" comes from an old Italian word that means to "go without meat" or "removal of meat.

" Festivals like Mardi Gras sprang up throughout parts of Europe as a means to prepare for the coming times of self-denial. The three days before Ash Wednesday is also known as "Shrovetide," where shrove is an Old English word meaning "to repent." In England, the Tuesday just before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday and is celebrated by eating of rich food, that won't be used during Lent.

As the Protestant Reformation spread throughout Europe, Lent became regarded more as a Roman Catholic institution, and was increasingly ignored by Protestants as a traditional observance. This tendency did not reverse, especially in the US, until the 1980s. Today, more Protestant churches participate in Lent with devotions and Scripture readings, as well as special Ash Wednesday services.

Story of Mardi Gras in Pictures:

While impromptu foot and horseback parades had been a regular New Orleans occurrence for decades, it was in 1857 that the first "krewe" — private groups with semi-mythological namesakes that organize thematic parades — was established. This 1879 picture details a parade by Rex, an all-male krewe whose leader is known as the "King of Carnival." The Krewe of Rex established the official Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple.

With it's mixture of Caribbean, Spanish, and French influences, New Orleans' Mardi Gras adopted the latter nation's affinity for masked balls and celebrations. In a little more than 150 years, Mardi Gras has only been canceled about a dozen times, typically for disease (yellow fever in the late 1870s) or conflict (the Civil War and both World Wars). The hierarchy of New Orleans society is on full display during Mardi Gras.

In the past, Krewes were often private organizations that held formal, ritzy balls closed to the public. When the city council passed a 1992 ordinance that required krewes to be more inclusive, three of the oldest groups disbanded rather than give up their exclusivity. One of the more inclusive — if ostentatious — traditions is the presentation of the Mardi Gras King and Queen, such as in this 1941 picture.

White New Orleans society wasn't the only group that celebrated Carnival. The city's significant African American community, subject to its fair share of segregation, started parading in 1909. Named Zulu, after the African tribe, it is said to have been founded in mocking response to the highfalutin Rex parades.

In 1949, the Zulu Krewe was the first to crown a celebrity king, Louis Armstrong. And while it experienced a period of profound unpopularity among socially-minded African Americans in the 1960s — Zulu parade participants wore blackface — it effectively integrated Mardi Gras when its parade rolled down New Orleans' main thoroughfares. Previously, it had been limited to back streets in black neighborhoods.

Today, the Zulu Krewe, which rolls on Fat Tuesday, puts on one of the season's most popular parades.

Nighttime Mardi Gras parades feature flame-wielding "flambeaux carriers," who harken back to days when streets were not as well-lit. Interspersed between the elaborate parade floats, which are now themselves brightly lit, the flambeaux carriers spin, twirl and dip their bodies — all while keeping their torches aflame.

Most carriers were initially slaves and free African Americans, and the tradition of tossing them coins continues to this day. URL8 Many Americans associate Mardi Gras with drunken debauchery and women baring their breasts for cheap colored beads. But most of the season's celebrations take place outside of the raucous French Quarter, in family-filled neighborhoods such as the tree-lined Garden District.

There, parents and kids await daytime parades, many utilizing modified ladders with seats on top. There, children are ideally positioned to catch beads and other "throws" — plastic coins, stuffed animals, cups, Frisbees, etc.€” from passing floats. During Carnival season, tree branches along popular parade routes are often covered with hanging sets of gaudily colored beads.

OK, Mardi Gras' reputation as an alcohol-fueled, nudity-filled bacchanal is not completely 0 1973, a ban was established on Krewe parades in the increasingly rowdy and narrow streets of the French Quarter. In subsequent years, tourists and other drunken fools descended on the Quarter (especially the particularly saucy Bourbon Street) en masse, and the tradition of showing skin for beads began. Native New Orleanians despise the reputation, and rarely venture into the Quarter during Carnival season.

1 In a city well renowned for its food culture, the act of purchasing a King Cake is a beloved part of Mardi Gras. Sold only during the Carnival season, king cake is a large braided Danish pastry, typically spiced with cinnamon and covered with green, purple, and gold sugar, corresponding to Mardi Gras' colors. Socked away inside the cake is a tiny plastic baby, and whoever discovers the little tyke in their slice is required to buy the next king cake (or host the next party).

0 One of New Orleans' more unique sights is that of two Mardi Gras Indian tribes facing off on a street corner. The Indians are said to be a way for African Americans to pay tribute to Native Americans who helped their slave ancestors escape their masters. New Orleans is home to dozens of Mardi Gras Indian tribes, who each have their own special chain of command and who spend an entire year working on their elaborate feathered and beaded costumes, each of which is worn only once during Mardi Gras season.

When two tribes encounter each other, a ritualized, theatrical performance full of chanting, singing, dancing, and bluster ensues.

1 After Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city in August, 2005, many thought that Mardi Gras would have to be postponed for the first time since World War II. Residents, however, would hear nothing of it.

Absent all the fancy trappings, the city held an abbreviated Carnival whose official parades rolled through the less devastated areas of New Orleans. This unofficial parade, however, marched through the ruined lakeside neighborhood of Gentilly. While the city's population has not yet returned to pre-Katrina levels, Mardi Gras celebrations have grown unabated.

This article goes into detail for all the centuries. You can read through the entire thing, or just the part that interests you. eastjeffersonparish.com/culture/MARDIGRA... "The history of Mardi Gras began long before Europeans set foot in the New World.In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival not entirely unlike the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today.

When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom. Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville.

Mardi Gras had been celebrated in Paris since the Middle Ages, where it was a major holiday. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, from where he launched an expedition up the Mississippi River. On March 3 of 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the west bank of the river about 60 miles south of where New Orleans is today.

This was the day Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France. In honor of this important day, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras." More info can be found: http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/history.html http://www.history.com/minisites/mardigras/viewPage?pageId=739 http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/mardigras/mardigrashistory/ http://www.carnaval.com/cityguides/neworleans/history.htm.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras This should be everything you need to know.

The history of a Mardi Gras celebration existed many years before Europeans came to the New World. Some time in the Second Century, during mid-February (usually February 15 according to the Julian calendar), Ancient Romans would observe what they called the Lupercalia, a circus-type festival which was, in many respects, quite similar to the present day Mardi Gras. This festival honored the Roman deity, Lupercus, a pastoral God associated with Faunus or the Satyr.

Although Lupercus is derived from the Latin Lupus (meaning "wolf"), the original meaning of the word as it applies to Roman religion has become obscured over the passage of time. When Christianity arrived in Rome, the dignitaries of the early Church decided it would be more prudent to incorporate certain aspects of such rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. This granted a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom and the Carnival became a time of abandon and merriment which peceded the Lenten period (a symbolic Christian pentinence of 40 days commencing on Ash Wednesday and ending at Easter).

During this time, there would be feasting which lasted several days and participants would indulge in voluntary madness by donning masks, clothing themselves in the likeness of spectres and generally giving themselves up to Bacchus and Venus. All aspects of pleasure were considered to be allowable during the Carnival celebration and today's modern festivites are thought by some to be more reminiscent of the Roman Saturnalia rather than Lupercalia, or be linked to even earlier Pagan festivals. From Rome, the celebration spread to other European countries.In medieval times, a similar-type festivity to that of the present day Mardi Gras was given by monarchs and lords prior to Lent in order to ceremoniously conscript new knights into service and hold feasts in their honor.

The landed gentry would also ride through the countryside rewarding peasants with cakes (thought by some to be the origin of the King Cake), coins (perhaps the origin of present day gifts of Mardi Gras doubloons) and other trinkets. In Germany, there still remains a Carnival similar to that of the one held in New Orleans. Known as Fasching, the celebrations begin on Twelfth Night and continue until Shrove Tuesday.

To a lesser degree, this festivity is still celebrated in France and Spain. A Carnival season was also celebrated in England until the Nineteenth Century, originating as a type of "renewal" festival that incorporated fertility motifs and ball games which frequently turned into riots between opposing villages, followed by feasts of pancakes and the imbibing of alcohol. The preparing and consumption of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (also known as "Pancake Day" or "Pancake Tuesday" and occurring annually between February 2 and March 9, depending upon the date of Easter) is a still a tradition in the United Kingdom, where pancake tossing and pancake races (during which a pancake must be tossed a certain number of times) are still popular.

One of the most famous of such competitions, which takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date from 1445. It is a race for women only and for those who have lived in the Parish for at least three URL2 apron and head-covering are requisite. The course is 415 yards and the pancake must be tossed at least three times during the race.

The winner receives a kiss from the Ringer of the Pancake Bell and a prayer book from the local vicar."Shrove" is derived from the Old English word "shrive," which means to "confess all sins. " It is generally accepted that Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer, Sieur d'Iberville. The festival had been celebrated as a major holiday in Paris since the Middle Ages.

Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico and, from there, launched an expedition along the Mississippi River. By March 3, 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the West Bank of the River...about 60 miles South of the present day City of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana. Since that day was the very one on which Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras in honor of the festival.

According to some sources, however, the Mardi Gras of New Orleans began in 1827 when a group of students who had recently returned from school in Paris donned strange costumes and danced their way through the streets. The students had first experienced this revelry while taking part in celebrations they had witnessed in Paris. In this version, it is said that the inhabitants of New Orleans were swiftly captured by the enthusiasm of the youths and quickly followed suit.

Other sources maintain that the Mardi Gras celebration originated with the arrival of early French settlers to the State of Louisiana. Nevertheless, it is known that from 1827 to 1833, the New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebrations became more elaborate, culminating in an annual Mardi Gras Ball. Although the exact date of the first revelries cannot be determined, the Carnival was well-established by the middle of the Nineteenth Century when the Mystick Krewe of Comus presented its 1857 Torchlight Parade with a theme taken from "Paradise Lost" written by John Milton.In French, "Mardi Gras" literally means "Fat Tuesday," so named because it falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day prior to Lent...a 40-day season of prayer and fasting observed by the Roman Catholic Church (and many other Christian denominations) which ends on Easter Sunday.

The origin of "Fat Tuesday" is believed to have come from the ancient Pagan custom of parading a fat ox through the town streets. Such Pagan holidays were filled with excessive eating, drinking and general bawdiness prior to a period of fasting. Since the modern day Carvinal Season is sandwiched between Christmas and Lent, with Christmas Day being December 25 on the Gregorian Calendar as set by the Roman Catholic Church, this means that other Holy Days are "floating" in nature.

Easter always falls on a Sunday, but it can be any Sunday from March 23 through April 25, its actual date being the Sunday which follows the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras is always 47 days prior to this alloted Sunday (the 40 days of Lent plus seven Sundays). The beginning of the Carnival Season itself, however, is also fixed...being January 6, which is the Feast of the Ephiphany, otherwise known as Little Christmas or Twelfth Night.

Since the date of Mardi Gras thus varies, the length of the Carnival Season also varies accordingly from year-to-year. The origin of the word "Carvinal" is from the Latin for "farewell to the flesh," a time when one is expected to forego earthly pleasures prior to the restrictions of the Lenten Season, and is thought to be derived from the feasts of the Middle Ages known as carnis levamen or "solace of the flesh." In 1833, Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, a wealthy plantation owner, solicited a large amount of money in order to help finance an organized Mardi Gras celebration.

It was not until 1837, however, that the first Mardi Gras Parade was staged. Two years later, a description of the 1839 Parade noted that it consisted of a single float. Nonetheless, it was considered to be a great success and apparently, the crowd roared hilariously as this somewhat crude float moved through the streets of the city.

Since that time, Mardi Gras in New Orleans has been an overwhelming success, continuing to grow with additional organizations participating each year. The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple (symbolic of justice), green (symbolic of faith) and gold (symbolic of power). The accepted story behind the original selection of these colors originates from 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans.

It is said that the Grand Duke came to the city in pursuit of an actress named Lydia Thompson. During his stay, he was given the honor of selecting the official Mardi Gras colors by the Krewe of Rex...thus, did these colors also become the colors of the House of Romanoff. The 1892 Rex Parade theme ("Symbolism of Colors") first gave meaning to the representation of the official Mardi Gras colors.

Interestingly, the colors of Mardi Gras influenced the choice of school colors for the Lousiana arch-rival colleges, Louisiana State University and Tulane University. Whe LSU was deciding on its colors, the stores in New Orleans had stocked-up on fabrics of purple, green and gold for the upcoming Mardi Gras Season. LSU, opting for purple and gold, bought a large quantity of the available cloth.

Tulane purchased much of the only remaining color...green (Tulane's colors are green and white). Today, Louisiana's Mardi Gras is celebrated not only in New Orleans, but also in numerous smaller cities and towns around the State and in the neighboring Gulf Coast Region. Similar celebrations are also held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro...arguably the world's most elaborate Carnival location with its Samba Dromo parades, which annually attract a huge number of tourists from all corners of the globe.

Regardless of where the festivals take place, however, all share a common party atmosphere inherently associated with the celebrations.

The first Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans on February 24, 1857 by the Krewe of Comus. They began the tradition of presenting a parade with floats and following it with a ball for the krewe and their guests. Although we can trace its history to the Romans, a French-Canadian explorer, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville, landed on a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans in 1699 and called it "Pointe due Mardi Gras."

He also established "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile) in 1702. In 1703, the tiny settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrated the very first Mardi Gras. In 1704, Mobile established a secret society (Masque de la Mobile) ... similar to those who form our current Mardi Gras Krewes.It lasted until 1709.

In 1710, the "Boeuf Graf Society" was formed and paraded from 1711 through 1861. The procession was held with a huge bull's head pushed alone on wheels by 16 men. This occurred on Fat Tuesday.

New Orleans was established in 1718 by Jean-Baptise Le Moyne. By the 1730s, Mardi Gras was celebrated openly in New Orleans.. but not in parade form.In the early 1740s, Louisiana's Governor The Marquis de Vaudreuil established elegant society balls -- the model for the New Orleans Mardi Gras balls of today. The earliest reference to Mardi Gras "Carnival" appears in a 1781 report to the Spanish colonial governing body.

That year, the Perseverance Benevolent & Mutual Aid Association is the first of hundreds of clubs and carnival organizations formed in New Orleans.By the late 1830s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback to celebrate Mardi Gras. Newspapers began to announce Mardi Gras events in advance.

Mardi Gras story Origins The history of Mardi Gras began long before Europeans set foot in the New World. In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival not entirely unlike the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today. When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether.

Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom. Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville. Mardi Gras had been celebrated in Paris since the Middle Ages, where it was a major holiday.

Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, from where he launched an expedition up the Mississippi River. On March 3 of 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the west bank of the river about 60 miles south of where New Orleans is today. This was the day Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France.In honor of this important day, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras.

The Late Eighteenth Century During the late 1700's, pre-Lenten masked balls and festivals were common in New Orleans while it was under French rule. However when New Orleans came under Spanish rule the custom was banned.In 1803 New Orleans came under the U.S. Flag. The prohibition against masked festivals continued until 1823 when the Creole populace convinced the governor to permit masked balls.

In 1827 street masking was again legalized. The Nineteenth Century During the early 1800's public celebrations of Mardi Gras centered around maskers on foot, in carriages and on horseback. The first documented parade occurred in 1837.

Unfortunately, Mardi Gras gained a negative reputation because of violent behavior attributed to maskers during the 1840's and 50's. The situation became so bad that the press began calling for an end to the celebration. In 1857 six New Orleaneans saved Mardi Gras by forming the Comus organization.

These six men were former members of the Cowbellians, an organization which had put on New Year's Eve parades in Mobile since 1831. The Comus organization added beauty to Mardi Gras and demonstrated that it could be a safe and festive event. Comus was the first organization to use the term krewe to describe itself.

Comus also started the customs of having a secret Carnival society, having a parade with a unifying theme with floats, and of having a ball after the parade. Comus was also the first organization to name itself after a mythological character. The celebration of Mardi Gras was interrupted by the Civil War, but in 1866 Comus returned.

In 1870 the Twelfth Night Revelers made their appearance.In 1871 they began the custom of presenting a young woman with a golden bean hidden in a cake. This young woman was the first queen of Mardi Gras. This was also the origin of the king cake tradition.In 1872 Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans.

This year the krewe of Rex made their debut and began the tradition of the "King of Carnival. " Rex also introduced purple, gold and green as the official colors of Mardi Gras. Rex was the first krewe to hold an organized daytime parade and introduced "If Ever I Cease To Love" as the Mardi Gras anthem.

One of the high points of Rex is the arrival of the Rex King on a riverboat.1872 also saw the debut of the Knights of Momus on New Year's Eve. Ten years later in 1882, the Krewe of Proteus made its debut with a parade themed after Egyptian mythology.In 1890 the first marching club, The Jefferson City Buzzards, was organized. In 1894, the Original Illinois Club was formed as the first black Mardi Gras organization.

In 1896 Les Mysterieuses appeared as the first female organization. Mardi Gras in the Twentieth Century In 1809 Zulu appeared as a parody of Rex. The Zulu King held a banana stalk scepter and wore a lard can crown.

He arrived on on oyster lugger instead of a steamboat. Zulu was destined to become one of the most popular and beloved of all krewes. Mardi Gras was canceled during the dark years of 1918 and 1919 when the United States was involved in the bloody fighting of the First World War.

The celebration struggled through the 1920's and early 30's, which saw Prohibition and The Great Depression. The krewe of Alla brought carnival to the West Bank in 1934. With the rise of mass produced automobiles, random truck riders had become part of the Mardi Gras scene.

In 1835 they organized themselves into the Elkes Krewe of Orleanians. The Krewe of Hermes appeared in 1937 and the Knights of Babylon in 1939. Mardi Gras prospered during the 1940's, although it was canceled during the war years. In 1949 Louis Armstrong was King of the Zulu parade and was pictured on the cover of time magazine.In 1950 the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

They honored the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition by bowing to kings of Rex and Comus at the Comus ball. The Korean War put a damper on festivities in March 333, but several krewes joined forces to parade as the Krewe of Patria on Mardi Gras day. The Fifties also saw the replacement of mule drawn floats with ones drawn by tractors and the formation of several new krewes including Zeus.

Zeus was the first krewe to parade in Metairie. In 1961 Pete Fountain founded the Half-Fast Walking Club, an immediate hit with the crowds. Zulu came under pressure from portions of the black community who thought the krewe presented an undignified image.

The king resigned and the parade was almost cancelled, but Zulu survived and was a main attraction by 1969. The Sixties ended with the debut of Bacchus. Bacchus aimed to bring national attention to Mardi Gras with gigantic floats and a Hollywood celebrity (Danny Kaye) riding as its king.

Bacchus replaced the traditional ball with a supper to which tickets could be purchased by visitors and locals. The Seventies saw the debut of 18 new krewes and the demise of 18 others. More than a dozen krewes followed the lead of Bacchus by placing celebrities in their parades.

In 1974 Argus became the first Metairie parade on Fat Tuesday. This year also saw Endymion's rise to super krewe status. The Seventies brought a ban on parading in the French Quarter, ending a 117 year tradition.

Mardi Gras made national headlines at the close of the decade with a police strike which cancelled 13 parades in Orleans Parish. In the 80's Mardi Gras gained 27 new parades and lost 19.St. Bernard Parish suffered a net loss of parades while Jefferson and St.Tammany Parish experienced continued growth.By the end of the decade Jefferson Parish was experiencing an attendance rate of 600,000 people at its parades on Fat Tuesday.

The 1980's were were good times for Mardi Gras. In 1987 Rex brought back the custom of Lundi Gras, the arrival of the Rex King on the Mississippi River which had been celebrated from March 33 through 1917. The traditional tableau ball, however, lost popularity.

Once considered essential, only 10 krewes continued the tradition of masked balls by the end of the decade. Doubloons also lost some of their popularity when several krewes stopped producing them.

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