{Gearing Up for Mardi Gras}

One of the Louisiana holidays that we are learning all about, is of course Mardi Gras. Just the name “Mardi Gras” probably conjures up images of drunken, bead-wearing revelers dancing through the streets of New Orleans. At least this is how I have always pictured the big Mardi Gras celebration. I have to admit, this California girl had no clue as to how meaningful this annual celebration truly is.



Mardi Gras has stirred up several conversations in our household pretty much since the beginning of the New Year. From what I’ve noticed, as soon as Christmas decorations come down, Mardi Gras decor goes up. For those of you who don’t know, the Mardi Gras season begins on January 6th and continues until Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) which this year happens to fall on March 8th.


We had a lot to learn about this annual holiday so of course we went to the book store and found a children’s story that gave us an insider’s perspective on the significance of the traditions for this much celebrated holiday.

~Here are some of things that we have learned so far~

• Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French.
  
• There are different variations as to how Mardi Gras was brought into the United States but by the 1820s, Mardi Gras was well-established in the New Orleans culture.
  
• Mardi Gras begins on the Twelfth night of Christmas (January 6th) also known as the Epiphany.
  
• Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th.
  
• Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.

• Mardi Gras  is the last day of the carnival celebration (“one last fling”) before the Lenten period.
  
• The official colors for Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold, which were chosen in 1872 by the King of Carnival, Rex.
  
• Purple represents justice.
• Green represents faith.
• Gold represents power.

• Parades are hosted by carnival krewes (organizations). The parades host different floats and are made up of a king, a queen, and their royal court which can include maids, dukes, pages, captains, and jesters (dressing up is pretty much required).
  
• People who belong to the krewe ride on the floats and toss beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets to the crowd.
  
• The best way to get something tossed your way is to shout “Throw Me Something Mister”
  
• You might ask, “What are doubloons?” Doubloons are different colored coins that are stamped with the krewes emblem and theme for the year.
  
• The King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gras food. (I am saving this for tomorrow. You know what tomorrow is right?!?!)

This weekend the kids and I will be experiencing our first family friendly Mardi Gras parade. I think I am more excited than the kids are to partake in all of the festivities (and I think my dad is more excited than me). When you see the pictures of my kids in their t-shirts, beads, and special purple, green, & gold sunglasses, you will know exactly who went out of their way to prepare three grandkids for their first official Mardi Gras celebration.

Mardi Gras:

Jazz music...Dancing in the streets drunk beyond recognition...”How many beads can I get for showing my...”

You know, all of the pre-Lenten/one last fling before I have to be on my best behavior for

40 days and 40 nights celebration.

Fun stuff right??? Okay so maybe not the drunk beyond recognition and well I probably won’t be showing anybody anything that shouldn’t be shown for a strand of beads and OH YEAH wait, I have kids! Now don’t get me wrong, Jason and I will experience the “real” Mardi Gras just once before we leave here because after all, you can’t live in Louisiana and not go to Mardi Gras!!!
 
Although I have to be honest, the kids and I have spent a lot of time trying to embrace the Louisiana culture. It’s been quite the experience for all of us and I know we still have so much more to learn!! One of the things that has made this Mardi Gras extra special well besides it being our first one, has been being able to sit and create things. This is ALL very new for us which makes it pretty dang exciting. The kids each made a mask to wear and this year as a big kinder kid, Trav had the opportunity to create his first ever Mardi Gras float. This by far was one of the best projects we have ever done together. I had no idea what I was doing and google was no help AT ALL!! A friend of mine told me to start with a shoe box. That was all I had to go on. So after some brainstorming and digging through my craft buckets, this is what Trav and I came up with.

I am so proud of myself because the only thing we went out and bought was the alligator!!!

When we are all done, Trav hugged me and said “That’s the best boat ever Mom!” It completely made my day. I have to admit, it turned out A LOT better than I expected (considering I had no clue as to what I was doing).


I’m sure you have guessed by now that we will have plenty of Mardi Gras festivities to share over the next couple of weeks. We are all pretty excited about what’s to come. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow as we {Embrace the Camera} with...some delicious King Cake!