On February 26, 1827, a
new State of Louisiana holiday, was born. This day, a group of masked and
costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, marking the beginning of the city's famous Mardi Gras celebrations. The students,
inspired by their experiences studying in Paris, donned masks and jester
costumes and staged their own Fat Tuesday festivities.
The celebration of Carnival--or the weeks between Twelfth
Night on January 6 and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian period of Lent--spread
from Rome across Europe and later to the Americas. Many
see a relationship to the ancient tribal rituals of fertility that welcomed the
arrival of Spring. A possible ancestor of the celebration was the Lupercalia, a
circus-like orgy held in mid-February in Rome. Note that Feast of Lupercalia is
considered a likely origin for the St.
Valentine’s Day as well. The early Church fathers, realizing that it was
impossible to divorce their new converts from their pagan customs, decided instead
to direct them into Christian channels. Thus Carnival was created as a period
of merriment that would serve as a prelude to the penitential season of Lent.
Nowhere in the United States is Carnival celebrated
as grandly as in New Orleans, famous for its over-the-top parades and parties
for Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.
And the history of the
Carnival in Louisiana can be traced as far back in history as end of the 17th
century. A French-Canadian explorer, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville,
landed on a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans in 1699 and
called it "Pointe due Mardi Gras." He also established "Fort
Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile) in 1702. In 1703, the tiny
settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrated the very first Mardi Gras.
In 1704, Mobile already
established a secret society (Masque de la Mobile), similar to those who form the
currently active Mardi Gras Krewes. It lasted until 1709, but in 1710, the
"Boeuf Graf Society" was formed and paraded from 1711 through 1861.
The procession was held with a huge bull's head pushed alone on wheels by 16
men. This occurred on Fat Tuesday.
New Orleans was
established in 1718 by Jean-Baptise Le Moyne. While by the 1730s, Mardi Gras
was celebrated openly in New Orleans, but it was not in parade form. In the
early 1740s, Louisiana's Governor The Marquis de Vaudreuil established elegant
society balls -- the model for the New Orleans Mardi Gras balls of today.
Under French rule masked balls flourished, but were later banned by the Spanish
governors. The prohibition continued when New Orleans became an American city
in 1803, but by 1823, the Creole populace prevailed upon the American governor,
and balls were again permitted. Four years later street masking was legalized.
Started in 1827, the
parades grew in popularity, and by the late 1830s, newspapers began already announcing
Mardi Gras events in advance. In 1871, Mardi Gras's second "Krewe" is
formed, the Twelfth Night Reveler's, with the first account of Mardi Gras
"throws."
1872 was the year that
a group of businessmen invented a King of Carnival -- Rex -- to parade in the
first daytime parade. A visit by the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff was the
partial inspiration for the first appearance of Rex. The King of Carnival
immediately became the international symbol of Mardi Gras. Rex presented
Mardi Gras' first organized daytime parade, selected Carnival's
colors--purple, gold and green, produced its flag, and introduced its anthem,
"If Ever I Cease To Love." In 1872, the Knights of Momus also entered
the Carnival scene.
In 1873, the first
floats were constructed entirely in New Orleans instead of France. Over time,
hundreds of krewes formed, building elaborate and colorful floats for parades
held over the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Riders on the floats are
usually local citizens who toss "throws" at passersby, including
metal coins, stuffed toys or those now-infamous strands of beads. Though many
tourists mistakenly believe Bourbon Street and the historic French Quarter are
the heart of Mardi Gras festivities, none of the major parades have been
allowed to enter the area since 1979 because of its narrow streets.
In 1875, Governor
Warmoth of Louisiana signs the "Mardi Gras Act" making it a legal
holiday in Louisiana, which is still is.
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