By Emily Gray
The French-originated celebration known as Mardi Gras will occur on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. Mardi Gras, meaning “Fat Tuesday” in French, is a celebration that is extremely popular in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In New Orleans, celebrations will begin on Friday, February 25, and end on Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent.
“Lent is where you give up something until Easter. Last year I gave up soda,” senior Sarah Cook said.
Scheduled 47 days before Easter Sunday, Mardi Gras can occur on any Tuesday from February 3 to March 9. The festivity dates back several centuries to the Catholic Church, and it is considered the last day of the period known as the Festival of Carnival.
Although the celebration is widely known, many states do not recognize it as a holiday, and daily life continues on Mardi Gras. But that is not the case in New Orleans.
“Everyone participates, and there is actually no school on Mardi Gras,” Kandie Bradshaw said.
In 1699, French explorer Jean Baptiste le Moyne Sieur de Bienville named his camping site in Louisiana “Point du Mardi Gras”, since a holiday was occurring in France that day.
By 1703, the first Mardi Gras as celebrated in Mobile, Alabama. Celebration in New Orleans soon followed. Unlike celebrations today, Mardi Gras was celebrated with private balls back then. Parade-like festivities did not begin until around 1857.
The colors associated with Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. Purple meaning justice, green meaning faith, and gold meaning power.
“There is actually a story behind the selection of colors for Mardi Gras. In the 1870s, the Grand Duke Romanoff of Russia visited and he got to choose the colors,” Marcia Skiffington said.
Today, Mardi Gras is celebrated with music, parades, picnics, and floats. A popular tradition is the King Cake, which is similar to a coffee cake, and inside the cake has a toy baby or flavoring.
“Whoever gets the flavor has to bring the cake back next year… At least you know you will get invited though!” Bradshaw said.
While Mardi Gras is a wild celebration, the next day is extremely serious for Lent.
“It’s kind of like your last day to “live” and get everything out of your system,” Skiffington said.
Mardi Gras is a very well known celebration, and is continued to be celebrated in various areas.