Mardi Gras Celebration

"L'aissez les bon temps roulez" as translated in Cajun French means "let the good times roll" for the Mardi Gras celebration on Fat Tuesday. This is also known as Shrove Tuesday or the Carnival, an annual festival marking the first day before the Christian fest of Lent, a 40-day period of self denial and abstinence from merrymaking. Essentially, Mardi Gras is the last opportunity for reverlry and indulgence in food and drink before the temperance of Lent. The celebration of Mardis Gras came to North America from Paris, where it had been celebrated since the Middle Ages. In 1699, Frech explorer Iberville explored the Mississippi River from theGulf of Mexico up to a spot approximately 60 miles south of present-day New Orleans.

But Mardi Gras' roots predate the French. Many people see a relationship to the ancient tribal rituals of fertility that welcomed the arrival of Spring. Thus Carnival was created as a period of merriment that would serve as a prelude to the penitential season of Lent. In the early 19th century, thepublic celebration of Mardi Gras consisted mainly of maskers on foot, in carriates and on horseback. In 1872, Rex, the self-proclaimed King of Carnival, presented Mardi Gras' first organized daytime parade and selected the Carnival's colors of purple, gold and green (which symbolize justice, power and faith). The King of Carnival immediately became the international symbol of Mardi Gras. By 1989, more than 600,000 people annually attended parades on the east and west banks of Jefferson Parish on Fat Tuesday.

Perhaps the greatest change in Mardi Gras occurred in the 1980s when there was a tremendous increase in tourism during the Carnival season. Conventions which had once avoided New Orleans at Mardi Gras used the celebration as a reason to visit the famous town. International media was focused on Mardi Gras, with camera crews from Japan, Europe, and Latin America showcasing the festivities. Mardi Gras also became a year-round industry as more off-season conventions experieced the joys of Carnival, when they wer treated to mini-parades and repeat balls held in New Orleans' convention facilites. Beignets, a famous sugary pastry, were widely enjoyed in Jackson Square, which is situated in the French Quarter. So the next time when you visit New Orleans, "Let the Good Times Roll" on Fat Tuesday!