What You Might or Might Not Know About Mardi Gras

Also known as “Fat Tuesday,” the history of a Mardi Gras celebration existed many years before Europeans came to the New World. Some time in the Second Century, during mid-February Ancient Romans would observe what they called the Lupercalia, quite similar to the present day Mardi Gras. This festival honored the Roman deity Lupercus.

When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom.

It is generally accepted that Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer, Sieur d’Iberville. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, from where he launched an expedition up the Mississippi River. On March 3 of 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the west bank of the river about 60 miles south of where New Orleans is today. This was the day Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France. In honor of this important day, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras.

However, according to some sources, the Mardi Gras of New Orleans began in 1827 when a group of students who had recently returned from school in Paris donned strange costumes and danced their way through the streets. The students had first experienced this revelry while taking part in celebrations they had witnessed in Paris. In this version, it is said that the inhabitants of New Orleans were swiftly captured by the enthusiasm of the youths and quickly followed suit. Other sources maintain that the Mardi Gras celebration originated with the arrival of early French settlers to the State of Louisiana. Nevertheless, it is known that from 1827 to 1833, the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations became more elaborate, culminating in an annual Mardi Gras Ball. The Carnival was well established by the middle of the Nineteenth Century when torch lit parades started to take from.

In French, “Mardi Gras” literally means “Fat Tuesday,” so named because it falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day prior to Lent, a 40-day season of prayer and fasting observed by the Roman Catholic Church which ends on Easter Sunday.

Since the modern day Carnival Season is sandwiched between Christmas and Lent, with Christmas Day being December 25 on the Gregorian calendar as set by the Roman Catholic Church, this means that other Holy Days are “floating” in nature. Easter always falls on a Sunday, but it can be any Sunday from March 23 through April 25. Mardi Gras is always 47 days prior to this allotted Sunday (the 40 days of Lent plus seven Sundays).
The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold. The accepted story behind the original selection of these colors originates from 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans. During his stay, he was given the honor of selecting the official Mardi Gras colors.

Interestingly, the colors of Mardi Gras influenced the choice of school colors for the Lousiana arch-rival colleges, Louisiana State University and Tulane University. When LSU was deciding on its colors, the stores in New Orleans had stocked-up on fabrics of purple, green and gold for the upcoming Mardi Gras Season. LSU, opting for purple and gold, bought a large quantity of the available cloth. Tulane purchased much of the only remaining color…green (Tulane’s colors are green and white).

Today, Louisiana’s Mardi Gras is celebrated not only in New Orleans, but also in numerous smaller cities and towns around the State and in the neighboring Gulf Coast Region.

BobcatFans brings Mardi Gras to San Marcos has it hosts the 2nd annual BobcatFans Mardi On The Square Bash at Harpers Public House. Join us for an old celebration that is finding a home in San Marvelous.

Sources:
wikipedia.org, history.com, novareinna.com