Each year during Mardi Gras, approximately 1.4 million visitors take to the streets of New Orleans to participate in the city’s iconic Fat Tuesday parades and festivities. The annual celebration of excess and indulgence is observed everywhere from Rio de Janeiro to Venice, but New Orleans’s unique Mardi Gras customs (more on those below) make the city’s celebration particularly renowned. In 2020, Mardi Gras Day is February 25. Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
What is Mardi Gras?
The legacy of Mardi Gras can be traced to European Carnival celebrations during the 17th and 18th centuries. Carnival has traditionally been celebrated as a debaucherous prelude to Lent, a six-week-long religious fast observed before Easter.
The holiday’s connection to New Orleans dates back to 1699 when explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville arrived to Louisiana and declared a plot of land “Pointe du Mardi Gras” upon realizing it was the eve of the medieval holiday. In 1718, the city of New Orleans was established near the area known as “Pointe du Mardi Gras,” and by the 1730s, Mardi Gras parades and masquerade balls became an annual tradition in the southern city. While Mardi Gras officially takes place on Fat Tuesday—the day before Ash Wednesday that marks the start of Lent—in New Orleans, annual Mardi Gras festivities begin up to a month in advance.
King Cake
The name “king cake” comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to Baby Jesus. A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras – and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses. Hidden within these season sweets also lie a special surprise: a plastic king cake baby to continue the fun.
Hidden in its interior, or under a slice, is a small plastic baby. Whoever finds it must either bring the next cake or throw a party, thus sparking an unending round of food and fun. Whether at the workplace, school or home – king cake is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the Mardi Gras season.
King cake is indeed a heavenly treat for New Orleanians when it appears in supermarkets and bakeries between early January and Ash Wednesday. Some bakeries across the city begin selling as early as December, but always at the start of Carnival – January 6. While we hold firm to our belief that king cakes taste best in New Orleans, don’t fret if you aren’t here during that special time of year. Several bakeries offer fast delivery anywhere in the United States.
Important things to know
Purple, gold, and green: The Rex Organization, one of the oldest Mardi Gras krewes in New Orleans, established purple, gold, and green as the official Mardi Gras colors as far back as 1892. The three shades are said to symbolize justice, faith, and power, respectively.
Krewe: These are the organizations responsible for planning and executing Mardi Gras parades and masquerade balls. In keeping with the allure of original Carnival traditions, several krewes do not reveal the theme of their parades until the night of the events. Equally mysterious, many krewes make sure their participants’ identities are never publicized (which is why krewe members wear elaborate masks during parades).
Source: Wikipedia, Neworleans.com
Photography: Internet