A Krewe is an organization that works all year to plan out the balls and parades for Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras Krewes date all the way back to the mid-nineteenth century when the first parades started rolling the streets of the Big Easy. In , The Mistick Krewe of Comus was the first secret society to host a parade. Now, many different parade krewes exist, and often times a krewe will feature a celebrity rider as the king or queen of the parade that year.
Some krewes are more exclusive than others, and while plenty of krewes host the iconic Mardi Gras parades with floats, there are also many marching krewes. One of the most well-known of these is the Society of Saint Anne which has been walking the streets of the Marigny and French Quarter on Fat Tuesday since Every year, each Mardi Gras Krewe prepares a lavish ball to take place during the Carnival season.
The balls date back to the s and were very private affairs. While today some hold invitation-only balls, many are now ticketed events open to the public. Probably one of the most well known Mardi Gras traditions. The original Mardi Gras beads were made from glass. With a celebration as vibrant and memorable as Mari Gras, you'd be hard-pressed not to know about the grand parades and huge parties.
Yet it's entirely possible to be familiar with the pageantry of the day and not know anything about the true history of Mardi Gras. Perhaps you're aware of its relationship to Easter or that it's also celebrated in numerous other countries around the world, and you might have even baked a king cake or two.
But the where, when, and how of Mardi Gras's history might still be elusive, which is why we're here to help. Before Lent kicks off, equip yourself with some useful facts about Fat Tuesday and the season that precedes it. This year, we'll have to settle for virtual Mardi Gras activities. In the meantime, read up on some Mardi Gras history and find out how this purple, green, and gold bash started in the first place.
You can trace the roots of Mardi Gras back thousands of years , all the way to pagan spring festivals. The day has similarities to the raucous Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia.
Once Christianity came to Rome, religious leaders tried to blend pagan traditions with Christian traditions for a smoother transition. What resulted was a festival where people drank, feasted, danced, and partied before the abstinent and somber period of Lent began. However, some experts disagree and say that this festivity actually began as a response to the Catholic Church banning sex and meat during Lent.
They say this then lead to people partying and indulging as much as they could before Lent started. In this narrative, experts believe that Church leaders encouraged the rumors of pagan roots in an effort to quell the festivities. They held a small celebration and dubbed their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras.. In the decades that followed, New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday with street parties, masked balls and lavish dinners. When the Spanish took control of New Orleans, however, they abolished these rowdy rituals , and the bans remained in force until Louisiana became a U.
Ten years later, the first recorded New Orleans Mardi Gras parade took place, a tradition that continues to this day. In , a secret society of New Orleans businessmen called the Mistick Krewe of Comus organized a torch-lit Mardi Gras procession with marching bands and rolling floats, setting the tone for future public celebrations in the city. Since then, krewes have remained a fixture of the Carnival scene throughout Louisiana.
Other lasting customs include throwing beads and other trinkets, wearing masks, decorating floats and eating King Cake.
Louisiana is the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday. However, elaborate carnival festivities draw crowds in other parts of the United States during the Mardi Gras season as well, including Alabama and Mississippi.
Each region has its own events and traditions. Across the globe, pre-Lenten festivals continue to take place in many countries with significant Roman Catholic populations.
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Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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