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Party goers have masquerade balls and dress up in costumes for these events. King Cakes are eaten during this holiday. Mardi Gras is known as the "biggest free show on earth."
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" and of course is celebrated on a Tuesday. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Catholic Church. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday. Traditionally, it is the last day for Christians to indulge—and often overindulge—before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting that come with Lent. Formally known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras has long been a time of extravagant fun for European Christians.
The official colors for Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. These colors where chosen in 1872 by the King of Carnival, Rex. He chose these colors to stand for the following:
Purple represents justice
Green stands for faith
Gold stands for power
The Mardi Gras season begins about two weeks before Fat Tuesday. During those two weeks, parades can be viewed nightly and on weekends. Almost all businesses are closed for Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) and for Mardi Gras itself.
Krewes: New Orleans Royalty
Mardi Gras has long combined wild street activities open to everyone with events organized by private clubs known as krewes. Today, thousands of people belong to about 60 krewes that plan the parades and balls of New Orleans' Mardi Gras. The oldest krewe, the Krewe of Comus, was founded in 1857 by men who feared the outrageous antics of Mardi Gras would lead to the holiday being outlawed. They hoped that secret societies could keep the celebrations alive.
One way you can tell that Mardi Gras season is here, is by the King Cakes that pop up everywhere. A King Cake can be best described as a circular, braided cinnamon coffee roll, 12" to 24" in diameter, with lots of pretty purple, gold and green icing (and of course, there is a little plastic baby inside).
How did this custom start? The king cake traditionally was served on "Little Christmas" or "Kings' Day" other names for the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated Jan. 6. Since Epiphany comes on the twelfth day of the Christmas celebration, it also became known as Twelfth Night. The cake was baked on Epiphany Eve and served the following afternoon to family and friends. Today, the cake is served throughout the "Epiphany season," or until Mardi Gras.
By the Middle Ages, veneration of the three wise men had spread throughout Europe and Epiphany became known as The Feast of the Three Holy Kings. The cake was baked in honor of the Magi.
So, what's this thing about a plastic baby inside? Yep. In every one! The general rule is that you try to get a piece of the cake without the baby, because if you get the baby, you buy the next King Cake!
Latin Americans, like New Orleanians, place a figure representing the Christ child inside the cake. In other cultures, the king cake might contain a coin, bean, pecan or pea.
In medieval France, the coin finder was expected to make a contribution to a worthy cause, usually the education of a deserving youngster. In some parts of Europe, those who find the bean and pea are king and queen for the day.
In New Orleans, the person who receives the piece of cake containing a "baby" must provide the king cake for the next gathering of the season. (In some offices, king cake has become a daily treat for the full length of Carnival.)
Local bakeries report selling 4,000-5,000 king cakes each day during the Carnival season, and cakes are shipped to destinations worldwide.
Traditional king cake is similar to brioche, a sweetened yeast bread, its only adornment a sprinkling of colored sugar. Today king cakes with an unprecedented array of fillings and flavorings have outdistanced the sugared one in popularity.
History of Mardi Gras Beads:
While Mardi Gras means many things to many people, one item that is incorporated into almost every Mardi Gras celebration is beads of every size, shape, and color.
But how did this tradition come to be? And more importantly what do those beads stand for? The bead phenomena is a relatively new one considering that while the first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans occurred in the 1830s, it wasn't until the Rex parade threw inexpensive handmade glass necklaces sometime in the 1920s that the tradition was born. Since that time the Mardi Gras bead industry has grown larger with each year and the cries of "throw me something, Mister!" that parade goers yell to catch the attention of the floats passing by gets louder along with more creative ideas to secure those precious trinkets. However, many people don't know that the traditional Mardi Gras bead color scheme: purple, green, and gold holds special meaning as well. The Purple, represents justice; the Green symbolizes faith; and the Gold exemplifies power. Though as the celebrations grow larger with each year that passes, beads and necklaces now come in every shape and color imaginable. Also, parade Krewes each year have sought out other trinkets to toss to the crowds, in addition to the beads, to make their parade unique. In recent years Frisbees, plastic cups, and even doubloons all marked with the specific parade Krewes name and logo have been thrown to thousands of Mardi Gras goers. Though one of the more unique and sought-after throws, among Mardi Gras aficionados, is distributed by the Zulu Aid & Pleasure club, which distributes hand-painted coconuts. In recent years the Zulus have needed to pass out the coconuts in bags, rather then throwing them due to safety concerns as they weigh about 11 lbs. each! But the beads and necklaces remain the most popular Mardi Gras souvenir. And it is not uncommon for members of parade Krewes to spend an average of $800-$2,000 per parade ride on the beads that they will toss over the course of their parade route. Also, Krewes must submit their bead orders in September to ensure that they will be ready for Carnival season early the next year. In recent years the distribution of beads has been equated to rowdy behavior. This has mainly involved men demanding that women show certain parts of their bodies to earn their beads. Many long-time Mardi Gras attendees will point out that this mainly happens in the French Quarter and not along the actual parade route, where the fun and true purpose of Mardi Gras continues to prosper. Beads are getting longer and bigger. The most popular size today is about 33"long.
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