No
one really knows where or when the custom started -- and many
of us don't care! Some people trace it to the Romans, whose
pagan orgies were held during the spring season. A few other
places celebrate Mardi Gras, but no one does it like New Orleans
-- the City that Care Forgot!
The French in New Orleans were having private masked balls
and parties in 1718. When the Spanish government took over,
parties and street dancing were banned. It wasn't
until 1827, when Americans were in power, that the
right to party in mask was restored --I love America!
During the 1850's, the city's elite and their
elegant Mardi Gras parties were quite a contrast to the wild
partying and near-rioting in the streets. It was soon
clear that all celebrations were in danger of facing another
ban.
In 1857, a group of men formed a secret society called the
Mystick Krewe of Comus. They knew that Mardi Gras could
be preserved with planning,organization, and management
of the celebrations. Comus planned the first parade around
a theme and used flambeauxs to light the procession. The
Krewe of Rex formed in 1872 -- principally to entertain
the visiting Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia.
Since America didn't have royalty to properly welcome
the Grand Duke, the men in Rex created a King "for
the day" so the Grand Duke could be royally received.
They secretly anointed one of their own (a certain Mr.Halliday)
to be the King of Carnival. Mockery is a hilarious characteristic
of Mardi Gras! (To this day, many parades keep
their King's identity a secret until parade day.)
It soon became known that the Grand Duke's reported mistress
lover, Lydia Thompson (an American actress and star),
was appearing in New Orleans during the Duke's visit.
We don't know if having a mistress at that time was to
be kept quiet, but the parade band didn't care,
and its official theme then became "If Ever I Cease to
Love You." Mardi Gras has always been risque at times!
New Orleanians have since formed a lot of secret societies
that have served many charitable and social functions.
They often help unite the city with their parade's political
themes. In 1877, after a brief interruption from the
Civil War and the unrest that followed, the Krewe of Momus
held a parade with the theme "Hades, a Dream of Momus"
to ridicule President Grant and his Administration. During
the Persian Gulf War, the theme for many parades and costumes
was patriotism. In order to catch Mardi Gras throws, many
parade-goers fashioned nets with a cardboard face of Sadam
Hussein saying "Hit Me!" Mardi Gras is pretty
sassy, too!
Mardi Gras can even poke fun at itself. The blacks of
New Orleans mocked the snobbishness and exclusivity of Rex
with their own parade. In 1909, William Storey wore
an old tin can for a crown instead of the more elaborate crown
Rex used. William was crowned "King Zulu" that
year, and was proceeded by "Provident Prince"
and the "Big Shot of Africa." Donning black face
and white eyes is another irresistible pun of the Zulu Social
Aid & Pleasure Club. Zulu's parade would meander
from barroom to the barroom in junky cars and wagons instead
of floats. If you wanted to catch the start of the parade,
you had to find the bar that was extending hospitality to
King Zulu. This Krewe didn't establish a parade route
until recently. Today, Zulu, withits beautiful modern
floats, is one of the more popular parades of the season!
They are known for their unique, hand-decorated coconut
throws. Only a fortunate few are lucky enough to get those!
Most Mardi Gras Krewes developed from private social clubs
that have restrictive membership policies. Since all of
these parade organizations are completely funded by its members,
we call it the "Greatest Free Show on Earth"!
However, in 1991, the New Orleans City Council introduced
a parade organization anti-discrimination ordinance; As a
result; some of the oldest private clubs;Momus; Comus and
Proteus, no longer parade the streets. (Comus is returning
year 2000.) The most recently developed parade organizations
are open and not secretive: Endymion; Bacchus; Zulu, and some
Metairie parades feature superstars on their floats -- and
all take place within the few days before Mardi Gras. You
must not miss them!
Mardi
Gras Dates
Year
Date
2004
February 24
2005
February 8
2006
February 28
2007
February 20
2008
February 5
2009
February 24
2010
February 16
2011
March 8
2012
February 21
2013
February 12
2014
March 4
2015
February 17
2016
February9
2017
February 28
2018
February 13
2019
March 5
2020
February 25
2021
February 16
2022
March 1
2023
February 21
2024
February 13
2025
March 4
2026
February 17
2027
February 9
2028
February 29
2029
February 13
2030
March 5
Mardi
Gras Colors
Rex
selected the official Mardi Gras colors in 1872. The 1892
Rex Parade theme Symbolism of Colors gave meaning to the colors:
purple
represents justice;
green, faith; and gold,
power.
It's
interesting to note that the Mardi Gras colors influenced
the choice of school colors for arch rivals Louisiana State
University and Tulane University. When LSU was deciding on
its colors, the shops in New Orleans had stocked up on purple,
green, and gold material for the Mardi Gras season. LSU decided
upon purple and gold, and bought much of it. Tulane bought
much of the only remaining color -- green! (Their colors are
blue and green.) Remember to wear Mardi Gras colors whenever
you're not in costume!
It
was brought to my attention that I had neglected to put on
the credits to this page. I have a bad habit of creating new
pages for my site and not completely finishing them till some
time later. Some times I make a new page and don't even publish
it for weeks or months later. This was the case with a few
of my holiday pages here. I created them and then lost bookmarks
and forgot where I got some of my information.
Some
of the references on this page came from: Celebrate
Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Sorry for not posting credit
earlier. I get side tracked and forget. I do not remember
where the dates and color references came from.
