UNMASKING MARDI GRAS

12 Things People [Prbly]

Don’t Know About NOLA's Carnival Season

Piece Of Cake

Carnival begins on the Epiphany, when the three wise men arrived at the manger to recognize Jesus as the Christ Child. Also known as King’s Day, it should be no surprise that the Christmastime pastry became known as the king cake, complete with a hidden plastic baby.

King cakes are decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold frosting. Some believe the colors represent each of the three kings. Others say, perhaps, they represent their three gifts to Jesus: myrrh, an embalming oil (purple as the color of death); frankincense, an incense (green representing God); and gold (God’s kingship on earth). The reality is that the Rex Organization used the Romanoff family colors in honor of the visiting Russian Czar in 1872, they just stuck: justice (purple); faith (green), and power (gold).

The baby? The Virgin Mary’s newborn child, of course. Which might actually make it a birthday cake.

Making The Bucket List

By Robert Witkowski

While much of the country hunkers down under a blanket of snow after the start of the new year, the City that Care Forgot celebrates with masquerade balls, a whole lotta music, and even more parades. But this preeminent bucket-list party still has much that many revelers may not know.

Better To Grant Permission

From the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the U.S., Mobile’s mayor issues annual proclamations to “allow” New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Promoting Mardi Gras was one of the earliest tourism campaigns. After the Civil War, the former-Confederate port city was still struggling to recover economically during Reconstruction and was desperate to re-engage trade with the northern cities. Recognizing an opportunity, New Orleans media and word-of-mouth campaigns began driving interest in the event, bringing Northern dollars down south, bolstering the economy. If you throw it, they will come.

Made In Tulane

Sweet Home Alabama

When discovered in 1699 by the French pioneering Le Moyne brothers on Lundi Gras, “Louisiane” was originally comprised of parts of eastern Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and, of course, Louisiana. In 1702, its first capital was established in Mobile, AL. Boeuf Gras (another name for Fat Tuesday referring to a fatted calf) was observed in Mobile the following spring of 1703. New Orleans was established 16 years later; however, the holiday was not regularly celebrated in the Crescent City until the 1730s. A Louisiana state holiday as of 1875, NOLA has eclipsed Mobile as the epicenter of Fat Tuesday revelry.

“In previous years, we have presented a tongue-in-cheek proclamation giving New Orleans and other cities permission to conduct their festivities,” confirmed Mobile spokesperson, Jason Johnson. “This was always done in the spirit of revelry and with respect for New Orleans.”

There is no record of New Orleans ever refusing the honor.

The French Connection

Beyond the Gulf region, St. Louis, MO and Portland, ME are intertwined with Louisiana’s historical colonial French heritage. As a result, both cities also officially recognize Mardi Gras.

Some say that a group of Tulane students in colorful costumes, dancing in the streets on Mardi Gras Day in 1827 was the origin of parades, with the first official parade in 1837. The oldest established krewe, The Mistick Krewe of Comus, first meandered along Julia S. to St. Charles Ave. in 1857. New Orleans parades haven’t been the same since.

Have A Ball

Author Arthur Burton LaCour notes the Comus Ball in 1857 on Gravier Street as New Orleans’ first Mardi Gras ball. Since that initial party, MardiGras. com approximates that 137 Carnival balls are scheduled annually, kicking off the season with the Twelfth Night Ball each January 6, by—who else?— the Twelfth Night Revelers. If you are invited, it’s important to note that despite the parades featuring colorful and outlandish costumes and masks, the corresponding balls are generally black tie.

THE MASKED PARADER

Even before selfies and social media, respected pillars of New Orleans society still did not wish to have their drunken indiscretions during Mardi Gras celebrations made public. So a law was passed to protect the guilty: “Wearing of masks, hoods, or other facial disguises in public places prohibited…exceptions; permit to conduct Mardi Gras festivities.” This, along with N95 medical masks, made masking legal.

NO MARDI GRAS FOR YOU

While Fat Tuesday cannot be canceled as a holiday any more than Ash Wednesday or the subsequent Easter, the revelry can be. The 2021 pandemic was only the latest of 14 times New Orleans stopped letting the good times roll.

1979 New Orleans Police strike

1951 Korean War

1942-1945 World War II

1919 Spanish Flu pandemic

1918 WWI

1879 Yellow Fever

1875 White Supremacist unrest

1862-1865 Civil War

THE MEANING OF LIFE

The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus is a legally recognized religion in Louisiana, with the late Peter Mehew (who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise) as their "patron saint." This non-profit designation earns the krewe charitable legal taxexempt status in Louisiana—as well as getting married by a wookie— according to one of a founding Menin-Black members. This subsequently helps ensure membership dues will forever remain $42, which any Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fan will tell you, is the answer to the meaning of life—unfortunately no one knows the question. But all are welcome, so members do not need to convert to the sci-fi krewe. However you roll, may the force be with you.