Noted as the city is for jazz music, Cajun and Creole cooking, and the French Quarter, Mardi Gras eclipses all as New Orleans’ most famous centerpiece. It has arguably the greatest economic and cultural impact of any event in the city.

A time of revelry, fraternity, festivity and unabashed indulgence, Mardi Gras reflects New Orleanians’ rich heritage, unleashes the joyous soul of the city and invites everyone to join in the fun. The festival embraces the city’s social and cultural variety, from the Mardi Gras Indians to the Zulu parade to the Endymion ball, and brings everyone together in the spirit of revelry.

2006 marks a monumental year for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. On this, the 150th anniversary of carnival in the city, Mardi Gras will be a very special celebration of who we are and a joyful affirmation of our city’s rebirth. It will be both a demonstration of and a catalyst for recovery. It will invite the world to join in celebrating New Orleans’ colorful past· and ushering in our bright new future

Mardi Gras - How it Works

In New Orleans, a town famous for its French Quarter and Bourbon Street, for hot Cajun and Creole cuisine and for cool Dixieland jazz, one event surpasses them all as the city's legendary signature piece - Mardi Gras! It's a season of revelry and romance, of madness and music, of parades and parties, of comic costuming in the streets and grandiose private masquerade balls. Mardi Gras is a time when the gaudy and the gorgeous all come together for one gigantic blowout. From the regal to the ridiculous, the New Orleans Mardi Gras has it all!

Since the first modern day pageant was presented in 1857, with time outs occasioned by World Wars, more than 1,800 Mardi Gras parades have been staged in metro New Orleans. The festival that was conceived as a party the city threw for itself has grown into one of the world's grandest tourist attractions. Yet for all its international fame, it can be difficult for a first-timer to grasp. The celebration even has its own vocabulary, and to make matters a bit more confusing, Mardi Gras is scheduled on a different date each year! Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Mardi Gras, however, is its connection to religion.

THE BASICS

Carnival, loosely translated from Latin as "farewell to flesh," is the season of merriment that starts in New Orleans each year on January 6, the Twelfth Night feast of the Epiphany - the day the three kings visited the Christ Child. Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is the single-day climax of the season. While Mardi Gras undoubtedly has pagan, pre-Christian origins, the Catholic Church legitimized the festival as a brief celebration before the penitential season of Lent. The date of Mardi Gras is set to occur 46 days before Easter and can fall as early as February 3 or as late as March 9.

During the 12 days preceding Mardi Gras, more than 60 parades and hundreds of private parties, dances and masked balls are annually scheduled in the metro area. Fat Tuesday is a legal holiday in New Orleans, a day when half the town turns out in costume to watch the other half parade! Then, promptly at midnight, the party's over, as Ash Wednesday ushers in the austere Lenten season.

The single custom that most distinguishes Mardi Gras parades is that of throws - trinkets tossed from the floats - which turn New Orleans parades into crowd participation events unmatched anywhere. "Throw Me Something Mister" is the battle cry of the million-plus people who line the parade routes. Most popular among the millions of throws are those that illustrate the organization's logo and the parade's theme, including plastic drinking cups, medallion necklaces and colorful aluminum coins called doubloons.

HOW DOES IT WORK?  

Mardi Gras annually generates nearly half-a-billion dollars for the New Orleans economy. Since no commercial or corporate sponsorships of Mardi Gras parades are permitted, it is the Carnival club members who put on the show and foot the entire bill.

Mardi Gras organizations are non-profit clubs called krewes and many are named after mythological figures such as Aphrodite, Eros, Hermes, Pegasus and Thor. Each krewe is completely autonomous and there is no overall coordinator of Carnival activities.

The secrecy with which some of the older krewes cloak themselves is part of the mystique of Mardi Gras. Several do not reveal the theme of the parade until the night of the event, and the identity of their royalty is never publicized. Most of the newer organizations take a more public approach. Krewe members pay dues, ranging from $250-$850. In addition, they spend as much as they wish on throws. Some krewes stage parades, others present private tableau balls or bal masques (masquerade balls in which scenes are acted out); many do both.

About a dozen organizations dating from the 19th century use the Carnival ball as the highlight of the debutante season, as daughters of the socially elite members are presented at the city's Municipal Auditorium. Admittance is by invitation only and formal attire is required. Newer organizations have replaced the bal masque with lavish supper dances at the city's finer hotels.

A Carnival krewe is led by the captain, who is the permanent leader of the group. Each year, a king and queen are selected to reign over the parade. While most clubs select their royalty from within their own ranks, krewes such as Bacchus and Endymion invite guest celebrities to ride as their monarch or parade marshal. Stars such as Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, Dennis Quaid, Wayne Newton, Tom Jones, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Dolly Parton, John Goodman and Harry Connick, Jr. have been so honored. The recently established Krewe of Orpheus was founded by Harry Connick, Jr.

There is no overall theme for Mardi Gras, yet each individual parade depicts a specific subject. Among the more popular are children's stories, mythology, famous people, entertainment and literature. The 15-37 floats in each procession are designed to illustrate the parade's theme, and the maskers are costumed to reflect the title of each float. But Mardi Gras parades are more than just floats. A 200-member parading krewe may actually have 3,000 participants, including band members, motorcycle groups, dance teams, clown units, etc.

THROUGH THE AGES  

While its precise European origins are shrouded in mystery, Mardi Gras received its first mention in North America in 1699. French explorer Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville camped on the Mississippi River on a spot 60 miles south of the present location of New Orleans. Knowing the date, March 3, was being celebrated as a holiday in his native France, he christened the site Point du Mardi Gras. During the next century, the celebration of Mardi Gras included private masked balls and random street maskings in the cities of Mobile and New Orleans.

By the 1820s, maskers on foot and in decorated carriages began to appear on Fat Tuesday, and in 1837 the first documented procession in New Orleans occurred, but it bore no resemblance to today's Carnival.

The modern-day celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans was born in 1857 with the flambeaux -- lit (torch-lit) nighttime parade of the Mystic Krewe of Comus. In 1871, the Twelfth Night Revelers presented Mardi Gras with its first queen. In 1872, Mardi Gras' first daytime procession was presented by Rex, the King of Carnival. The event was partially inspired by a visit from the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff, who, legend has it, journeyed to New Orleans in pursuit of lovely singing sensation Lydia Thompson, who was starring in the burlesque play "Blue Beard."

The show's favorite melody was "If Ever I Cease to Love." With its nonsensical lyrics - If ever I cease to love, May cows lay eggs and fish grow legs, If ever I cease to love... The crowds went wild! It was played during the first Rex parade and has remained as the royal anthem of Mardi Gras. Rex also gave Carnival its flag and its official colors - purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith.

Les Mysterieuses, Carnival's first female organization, staged its premiere ball in 1896, but it was not until 1941 that the Krewe of Venus presented the first ladies' Mardi Gras parade. In 1909, Zulu, Carnival's first African-American parading krewe, was founded as a spoof of white Mardi Gras. Its parade is now one of the early highlights on Fat Tuesday.

While membership in parading organizations was once limited to only a few citizens, the expansion of Mardi Gras into the suburbs and democratization of Mardi Gras in the 1960s and 1970s opened up participation to virtually everyone. Super krewes such as Bacchus and Endymion helped modernize the festivities. In New Orleans there are krewes for men, women, men and women, families and gays.

On Fat Tuesday, about a dozen marching clubs cavort around town, including the historic Jefferson City Buzzards, founded in 1890, and the celebrity-filled Pete Fountain's Half-Fast Walking Club. For more than a century, the elusive African-American Indian tribes such as the Wild Tchoupitoulas and Yellow Pocahontas have also gathered on Carnival day. Their presentations and chants as they show off their "new suits" is a Mardi Gras day highlight.

Y'ALL COME  

But after all is said and done, Mardi Gras remains an event and a spirit that must be experienced to be understood. It's a mixture of centuries - old traditions and high-tech innovations. From the bawdy behavior of Bourbon Street to the family festival that Mardi Gras is everywhere else, the Carnival season in New Orleans truly defies description. Perhaps noted local author Don Lee Keith said it best: "In the truest sense, it is magic. But magic revealed is magic destroyed. And that is why the gods who made Mardi Gras dissolved the secret of that day in a chalice of mystery, leaving their creation forever without definition."

THIS FIRST SECTION "MARDI GRAS - HOW IT WORKS" WAS WRITTEN BY ARTHUR HARDY, PUBLISHER OF THE ANNUAL MARDI GRAS GUIDE MAGAZINE.  THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IS PROVIDED AND PUBLISHED HERE WITH PERMISSION OF THE NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF MARDI GRAS

When Iberville first set up camp near the future La Nouvelle Orléans, he named the site Pointe du Mardi Gras. The date was Mardi Gras day, 1699.

Mardi Gras Crowd

Original Revelers–The revels began (where so many revels did) in ancient Rome. Long before the Christian era, young men in disguise roamed the streets making merry during the winter Saturnalia. In the third century A.D., the emperor Aurelius fixed December 25— the winter solstice under the Julian calendar— as the birthday of the Invincible Sun, which the Romans worshipped. The dates of the Saturnalia and the Sun festival roughly collided, making for a weeklong, merry midwinter holiday season.

A couple of centuries later, the early Christian Church cleverly consolidated and converted these pagan feasts (as it had so many others) to a Christian holiday, declaring December 25 the birthday of the Son of God and Man. They called it “Christ Mass,” or Christmas. The Epiphany, the visit of the three kings to the Christ Child, was then celebrated on January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas. In medieval Europe, the Twelve Days of Christmas became a series of celebrations presided over by an impromptu king of the festivities, the Lord of Misrule.

During the revels, small tokens were distributed, suggesting the gifts brought by the three kings. The goodies dispensed by the Lord of Misrule and his court prefigure current carnival throws.

Bals masqués, or masked balls, became the pinnacle of Twelfth Night revelry in Renaissance Italy and spread to France and England. Early New Orleans Creoles called them les bals des rois, for the kings who presided over the masked merrymaking. A mock king for the night was chosen by chance: whoever found a coin or a bean in a piece of special “king cake” (named for the three kings and the king of Twelfth Night), was crowned monarch of Twelfth Night. His queen he either chose himself or was given through the luck of the draw: the girl who found a pea in her cake was crowned consort. The cake, bean and pea are ancient symbols of fertility.

Later, the masques and entertainment continued through Shrove Tuesday, which the French called mardi gras or “fat Tuesday,” the day before Lent. Ironically, the solemn, austere period of Lent created Carnival, which means literally, “farewell to meat.” All carnival revelries began with the frenzied overindulgence of people about to bid a temporary, but very fond, adieu to the pleasures of the flesh.

Another irony, the date for Easter (which determines Lent and therefore Mardi Gras) was determined by the Spring Equinox, a major pagan festival of ancient Rome, which the early Church characteristically morphed into a Christian feast day.

Mardi Gras falls between February 3 and March 9, always 46 days before Easter— the total of the 40 days of Lent plus the six Sundays in that period (no abstinence on Sunday).

And the date for Easter? It falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. Really.

Carnival Comes to the Crescent City

When the French explorer, Pierre le Moyne, the Sieur de la Iberville, set up a camp about 60 miles south of the future La Nouvelle Orléans, he named the site Pointe du Mardi Gras. It was apropos, since the date was March 3, 1699, Mardi Gras day.

The Europeans brought their carnival customs, and Creole society was soon masking and dancing at private balls while revelers in disguise roamed the streets.

The year 1837 marked the first documented procession of masked revelers in New Orleans. By the mid 1840s, the carousing and drunken streetcapades had grown so wild, relatively sober citizens lobbied to ban all public carnival celebrations.

But six men from Mobile, where Mardi Gras celebrations had been held as early as 1708 and parades since 1831, stepped in. Together with thirteen New Orleanians, they founded the first Mardi Gras organization and named it for a reference to “Comus with his crew” from John Milton’s poem, “A Mask Presented at Ludlow-Castle.” In Roman mythology, Comus was the god of mirth and revelry. A follower of Dionysus, he was represented as a drunken youth bearing a torch. In Milton’s poetic masque, Comus is a rascal, the son of wine god Bacchus and Circe, daughter of the Sun.

With a little whimsy and archaic spelling, the Mobile Six formed the Mistick Krewe of Comus, and in 1857 they paraded by torchlight on Mardi Gras evening on two mule-drawn floats.

They decided the parade wasn’t enough. The Krewe of Comus wanted something grander to celebrate Mardi Gras, so they formed a secret society in keeping with their Masonic origins, and issued 3,000 invitations to a ball which became the event of the year for New Orleans society. The first queen of Comus was Mildred Lee, daughter of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, whose exploits the city still venerates with a monument at Lee Circle.

The parade and ball, with themes from mythology and literature, were so successful that party-minded New Orleanians decided more was better, and the krewes of Twelfth Night Revelers, Proteus, and Momus were formed. Their parades rolled through dusky evenings and dark nights lit only by torches. But that was about to change.

Russian Rule Yet

It was by sheer chance that Alexis Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia, landed in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. The year was 1872, and he was in single-minded pursuit of his latest amour, actress Lydia Thompson.

Nevertheless, to celebrate his visit, a group of 40 businessmen funded a daytime parade and called it “Rex,” Latin for “king.” The first arrival of Rex was a surprise to most citizens. They learned of it on Lundi Gras (the day before Mardi Gras) through an announcement in the local newspapers ordering that normal business be shut down and the city handed over to “Rex, King of Carnival.”

In the duke’s honor, the newly formed Rex organization adopted the Romanov family colors of purple, green, and gold (which represent justice, fidelity, and power, respectively). They commissioned a band to play the Duke’s favorite love song, “If Ever I Cease to Love,” from the play Bluebeard, in which Thompson had a role.

After Alexis left, the colors stuck, the gala day parade continued, and a masked ball was added the next year in 1873. The song became the Mardi Gras anthem and theme of Rex, who mounted a permanent throne as King of Carnival and Monarch of Merriment with the motto Pro bono publico, “For the common good.”

Amazingly, Rex’s first arrival via riverboat at the foot of Canal Street, is still repeated every Lundi Gras. The mayor turns the city and its keys over to him in a public ceremony. That’s how Mardi Gras became a legal holiday in New Orleans.

The King of Cakes

King cakes came to New Orleans with the French, who substituted a tiny baby Jesus for the medieval bean. The cakes began as round, custard-filled pastries decorated with crowns. (These have lately become popular once again, made by French pastry shops around the city.)

Later, a brioche pastry was rolled into an open circle like a crown, decorated with jewel-like sugars, and it was in this form that the king cake became a New Orleans carnival staple, made and served only between January 6 (the Feast of the Three Kings) and Mardi Gras.

Within all New Orleans king cakes, there is either a bean or a small plastic baby. At the Twelfth Night Revelers ball, which kicks off the carnival season on January 6, whoever gets the golden bean is the queen. Her maids are designated by silver beans. (Now, of course, the court is chosen in advance, unlike their medieval counterparts who found the tokens at random.)

For two centuries, king cakes have been served at the Queen’s breakfasts which follow private Mardi Gras balls. Guests at any party given in the Mardi Gras season are almost guaranteed a slice of king cake. King cakes are even appearing at New Year’s Eve feasts, a sweet finish to the fireworks.

For decades, the king cake set off a round of parties in the teen crowd. Whoever got the baby or bean at the first soirée gave a king cake party the following weekend. The chain continued until Mardi Gras. In some circles, the tradition lives on.

MARDI GRAS LINGO

Coming to terms with New Orleans.

Why purple, green and gold for Carnival colors? When is “lundi gras”? How did the word “krewe” originate? What’s a flambeau? Learn the lingo and boeuf up your New Orleans vocabulary.

Ash Wednesday - The first day of Lent, it’s the Wednesday after Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Catholics typically attend church, where a priest blesses them by drawing a cross of ashes on the forehead, a symbol of penitence and the frailty of life.

Ball, bal masque - A masked ball, where a krewe’s court is presented to the club members. Old-line krewes throw decorous balls, often introducing debutante daughters of members. Attendance is by invitation only and limited to krewe members and their guests. A few newer krewes have refashioned the balls into bashes with celebrity guests and nationally recognized entertainment. Some are open to the public for the price of a ticket. To emphasize the new format they renamed the parties: Endymion throws an Extravaganza, Bacchus a Rendezvous, and Orpheus, the Orpheuscade.

Boeuf Gras (beuf grah) - French for “fatted bull.” Since the Middle Ages, it has heralded the feasting and festivities that precede the fasting and penitence of Lent. The fatted bull was killed on Monday, and the crowds gorged themselves on their last meat, trying to consume it all before midnight, when Lent began. The Boeuf Gras is a traditional theme float in the Rex parade.

Call-outs - Partners for masked members of old-guard krewes are sent formal invitations prior to each ball. They are then “called out” from the audience to dance with the krewe members who invited them to the ball. With each dance, krewe members give favors to their call-out partners.

Captain - The chief organizer of a carnival krewe or organization.

Carnival - From Latin, it literally means “farewell to meat.” Metaphorically, it’s a temporary adieu to the pleasures of the flesh, as the multitudes gather to overindulge before Lent. The carnival season begins on Twelfth Night, January 6, and culminates on Mardi Gras day, Fat Tuesday.

Colors of Mardi Gras - Because the first Rex parade honored a Russian prince, the New Orleans Mardi Gras adopted the colors of the royal house of Romanov: purple, green and gold for justice, faith and power, respectively.

Court Ball Royalty - The king, dukes, queen, maids and pages. Only the Court of Rex is called the “Carnival Court.”

Den - Once a secret location— generally a large warehouse.
It’s where a parade krewe’s floats are built and stored.

Doubloons - Commemorative coins struck for individual krewes. They are designed with the krewe crest or emblem on one side and the parade and/or ball theme on the other. Some also imprint mottoes; for Rex, it’s Pro bono publico, “For the common good.” The Krewe of Rex tossed the first parade doubloons in 1960. Now usually made of aluminum, some have been minted of bronze, sterling and real gold, given as call-out favors during balls. Rex alone has minted over eighteen million doubloons since 1960, and now tosses out about 600,000 on Mardi Gras day.

Favor - Krewe souvenirs given by members to guests attending the ball. From small costume jewelry pins to special doubloons, favors can be anything a krewe member wants to give his partner. On occasion, favors have even been extravagant items of real jewelry.

Flag - Notice the purple, green and gold flags flying outside homes around the city? Only former kings and queens of carnival have the right to fly the ones with crowns. The Crescent City is full of past, present and future royalty.

Flambeaux (plural, flam-boe) - Multipronged long metal torches fueled by naphtha or kerosene and secured by straps slung about the waist. Before portable generators and battery-operated lights, they were the only way to illuminate the floats of night parades. Traditionally carried by white-robed African Americans, they began as a symbol of Haiti’s independence, won in 1791, after slaves held a torchlight parade led by their priests.

Floats - Mobile platforms or trucks, each extravagantly decorated to depict one subject related to the parade’s theme that year.For instance, Pinocchio might dominate a float in a parade of fairytales or children’s literature. Popular theme areas include mythology, history, fairytales, and pop culture. Masked krewe members dressed in keeping with the parade theme or float subject toss a variety of throws to the crowds below.

Go-Cup - Plastic or paper cup. It’s legal to drink alcohol in the streets of the Big Easy as long as the container isn’t breakable. If you’re going to stroll and drink, ask the bartender for a go-cup.

King Cake - A party staple from January 6 through Mardi Gras day, the cake is named for the three kings who visited the Christ Child and whose feast, the Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6, the Twelfth Night after Christmas. Traditionally, the cake is a brioche pastry baked in a circle, suggesting a crown (although for convenience, large ones are oval). They are sprinkled with gem-like sugar crystals in the official Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. A plastic baby (symbol of the Christ Child), or in some cases a bean, is baked inside. By custom, the one who finds it throws the next king cake party. Lately, the brioche recipe has been supplemented by a coffee-cake ring alternative. French settlers brought the gâteau des rois to Louisiana in the 18th century. Their original round, flaky pastry pie filled with almond crème and topped by a paper crown, is now making a comeback in the French pastry shops around the city.

Krewe - A variation of the word “crew,” most carnival organizations, all are private and non-profit, are known as krewes. The word was invented with a little creative spelling in 1857 by the first New Orleans carnival organization. The founders of the Mistick Krewe of Comus, named their group for a reference to “Comus with his crew” from John Milton’s poem, “A Mask Presented at Ludlow-Castle.” A few parading organizations are not called krewes: Rex, Bacchus, Knights of Babylon, Knights of King Arthur, Corps de Napoleon, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club.

Lundi Gras - French for “Fat Monday,” it’s the day before Mardi Gras, and the revels intensify after the weekend parades. Today, both Rex, King of Carnival and the King and Queen of Zulu arrive via riverboats. The City of New Orleans hosts a free bash in Spanish Plaza outside Riverwalk, where the live entertainment features some of the Big Easy’s best musicians. During the festivities, the mayor presents the keys of the city, declaring Mardi Gras a legal holiday and the domain of Rex, who officially begins his reign of merry madness. The party shifts into high gear with great food and fireworks. In the evening, the venerable Proteus and spectacular Orpheus parades roll.

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday - Rex rules, but marching clubs like the Jefferson City Buzzards and Pete Fountain’s Half Fast Marching Club meander around town, alternating between playing and hitting the bars while they trade beads or paper flowers for smooches. Parades other than Rex roll through the city— Zulu, the Krewe of Elks and the Krewe of Crescent City in New Orleans, and others make merry in Metairie and in adjacent parishes. The masses don costumes skewed from elegant to outrageous. The elaborate regalia of the Mardi Gras Indians flash across the landscape in neighborhoods throughout the city. And downtown, the Bourbon Street Awards go to the best transvestite costume, usually loaded with more spangles than a Liberace ensemble and more elaborate headdress than a Las Vegas showgirl. No matter how wild, the celebrations end at midnight, when Ash Wednesday begins.

Mardi Gras Indians - Beginning in the 18th century, runaway slaves were sometimes taken in by local Native Americans. In homage to their saviors, African Americans began to band together in tribal krewes like the Wild Magnolias, Wild Tchoupitoulas, and the Wild West, headed by chiefs rather than captains. Fashioning the incredibly elaborate costumes of feathers and beads, is a family affair, and the custom is handed down from father to son. The feathered show usually takes wing near Claiborne and Orleans Avenues.

Maskers - Masked and costumed krewe members in parades or at balls.

Neutral Ground - Grassy medians where crowds stand to watch the parades and beg shamelessly for carnival throws. When the Americans arrived in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, they were unwelcome to the Europeans and Creoles who inhabited the French Quarter (then, the entire city of New Orleans). So the immigrants settled across Canal Street and established what is now the Central Business and Arts District. Canal Street then became the “neutral ground” in the clash of cultures. Ever since, New Orleans has been a city sans medians. Here, we have only neutral grounds. In case you’re wondering, cars parked on the raised neutral grounds mean only two things: imminent and nearby parades or a forecast of rain.

Parade - A procession of floats, maskers, horses, motorcycles, marching bands, flambeaux carriers and dancers. Parades begin about twelve days before Mardi Gras and end on Mardi Gras Day.

Rex King of Carnival - Rex is Latin for “king,” Also known as the “Monarch of Merriment,” Rex officially misrules over Mardi Gras having received the keys to city from the mayor on Lundi Gras. He is chosen by the inner circle of the School of Design, the organization that sponsors the Rex parade. His identity is a closely guarded secret until Mardi Gras day, when the local papers flash photos of him and his queen across the front pages.

Tableau - A scene enacted by masked krewe members at a Carnival ball. Staged before the dancing, it depicts the parade and/or ball’s theme. Think of it as a short, short, one-act mime.

Throws - Typically, plastic beads and cheap trinkets hurled by masked krewe members from passing floats. The usual suspects include beads (from plain round beads in Mardi Gras colors to light-upand- flash crawfish and other swamp inhabitants), doubloons and plastic cups. However, depending on the parade, the generosity of the masker, and the appeal of the crowd member, an energetic parade watcher could catch a rose, a stuffed animal, an Opheus virbloon (a virtual doubloon: a CD with video highlights of the previous year’s parade footage), a plastic alligator, rubber snake, a Zulu coconut, spear, a krewzer (whirling disc of polyester that converts to a throw bag), and dozens of other interesting little and large tchotchkes.

Mardi Gras FAQ's

When is Mardi Gras?
This year's Mardi Gras celebration is scheduled to begin February 23, 2006, a Thursday, and run through Fat Tuesday, February 28. Final decisions will not be made until after November 18, 2005, when all Carnival krewes are to notify the city whether they intend to parade.

Is Mardi Gras Really X-rated?
No, it is not. Unfortunately, the wild antics of visiting coeds on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter have gained such publicity that they have become the national image of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is generally a safe, G-rated event enjoyed by families. The festivities provide an opportunity for adults to act like kids again.

What Makes Mardi Gras Parades Different?
Throws! Baubles tossed from floats turn New Orleans parades into crowd participation events. It is not uncommon for a float rider to spend $500 or more on beads, cups and doubloons, which are freely thrown to parade viewers.

Is Mardi Gras Staged for Visitors?
Not really. While the "greatest free show on earth' draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, that is not its purpose. Mardi Gras is a party the city throws for itself. It has developed into a world-class tourist attraction, yet the City of New Orleans doesn't spend a cent promoting it.

What Companies Sponsor Mardi Gras?
They don't. Mardi Gras is the only entertainment venue in the world where the stars foot the bill and the audience gets a free ride. By tradition and by law, Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans may not be corporately sponsored. Carnival clubs are chartered as nonprofit organizations. They are financed by dues, by the sale of krewe-emblemed merchandise to the members, and by fundraising projects such as bingos.

Why Can't I Buy an Official Mardi Gras Poster?
There is no such thing. Unlike the Olympics or the SuperBowl, there is no governing authority to license products. Mardi Gras is like Christmas and Halloween -- it belongs to everyone. Beware of any item that bears the title "official." The claim (and the product?) are bogus. Free enterprise reigns supreme over Mardi Gras, making it a virtual paradise for entrepreneurs who compete for counter space and the attention of the public.

Who Coordinates Mardi Gras?
No one. While city governments issue parade permits, there is no overall authority that coordinates the five dozen parades held in the metro area during the 12 days that precede Fat Tuesday. Each parading organization is completely autonomous.

Why Are There No Parades in the French Quarter?
For 117 years, virtually every New Orleans Mardi Gras parade rolled through the French Quarter. In 1973 the fire and police departments felt that the increased size of parade floats, and the crowds that gathered to see them, rendered the narrow streets unsafe, so the city issued a ban on parades in that historic area.

What's the Difference between Carnival and Mardi Gras?
Carnival refers to the season of merriment which always begins on January 6. Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is the single culminating day of Carnival and it is always the day before Ash Wednesday.

Is Mardi Gras Really Connected to Religion?
Yes. The Catholic Church licensed Carnival, which means "farewell to flesh," as a period of feasting before the fasting of Lent. The Church also established the set date for the start of the Carnival season—January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany —and the fluctuating date of Mardi Gras.

Why Does the Date of Mardi Gras Change?
Because it's connected to the moveable date of Easter, which can fall on any Sunday from March 23 to April 25. Mardi Gras is scheduled 47 days preceding Easter and can occur on any Tuesday from February 3 through March 9.

When Was the First Mardi Gras Parade Held in New Orleans?
On February 24, 1857. The Mistick Krewe of Comus, Carnival's first secret society, coined the word "krewe" and was the first to choose a mythological namesake, to present a themed parade with floats, and to follow it with a tableaux ball.

Is it True Mobile Celebrated Mardi Gras before New Orleans?
Yes and no. New Orleans' first Carnival krewe was founded in 1857 by former members of Mobile's Cowbellian de Rakin Society, which was founded in 1830. However, Mobile's parades were held on New Year's Eve until 1866, when they switched to Fat Tuesday.

Has Mardi Gras Ever Been Canceled?
Yes, but not often. Since 1857, only 13 Fat Tuesdays have been effected. Most cancellations were caused by wars: Civil, WWI, WWII and Korean.

Krewes Are Named after What?
The colorful worlds of Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology are the sources of nearly half of the parading krewe names. Other clubs are named after the neighborhoods through which they travel, while some are named after historical figures or places.

What Do the Carnival Colors Mean?
Purple represents justice, green stands for faith, and gold signifies power. Rex, the King of Carnival, selected them in 1872 for his first parade. While they were probably chosen simply because they looked good together, Rex assigned a meaning to each in his 1892 parade, entitled "Symbolism of Colors."

What Are Balls and Why Can't I Go?
Carnival balls are private formal affairs (tuxedos and long gowns required) and are by invitation only. Bals Masque (masked balls) in New Orleans predate the first parade by more than a century. More than 125 private balls are presented each season in the city's Municipal Auditorium and in the grand ballrooms of major hotels. Mock royalty reigns over each ball, where a king, queen, maids and dukes are presented. In the older society krewes, the court is made up of debutantes.

Some clubs stage "tableaux" (theatrical scenes) enacted by krewe members, and favors are given to special guests. Krewes such as Bacchus, Orpheus, Endymion and Zulu have replaced the traditional ball with extravaganzas presented at the Louisiana Superdome and at the Morial Convention Center. Tickets are sold to these events.

What's the Theme for this Year?
There is no general theme for Mardi Gras, but each individual parade depicts a specific subject. The floats then reflect the krewe's theme for that year. Maskers are costumed in a manner that illustrates the overall parade theme and the individual float title. Among the more popular subjects have been history, children's stories, legends, geography, famous people, entertainment, mythology and literature.

Do I Have to Mask?
No, but you should, at least on Fat Tuesday, the only day when street masking is legal (from dawn to dusk). Masking, which can be elaborate or makeshift, dates from Roman carnivals when assuming false identifies was a common practice. By law, float riders must be masked at all times.

How Do I Get to be King?
If you're not a krewe member or a celebrity, you don't. The method of selecting Mardi Gras royalty varies from krewe to krewe. The King of Carnival is chosen by the inner circle of the School of Design, the sponsoring organization for the Rex parade. Some krewes hold random drawings to pick their king or queen. Most clubs charge the selected monarch a fee to reign. In several of the newer krewes, elaborate ceremonies called "coronation balls" are staged to crown their royalty.

Is Secrecy Still a Part of Carnival?
Yes. While many Carnival clubs are fairly accessible (some even have websites), most maintain the tradition of secrecy that has been a part of Mardi Gras since its earliest days. A unique custom in the older organizations is that the king's name is never made public. An exception is Rex, whose name is revealed the day before his parade. And while many in the media know his identity days in advance, the embargo on publishing it has never been violated.

What about Celebrities?
The Krewe of Bacchus began the tradition of selecting celebrity kings with its first parade in 1969, when Danny Kaye reigned. Endymion and Orpheus also annually invite guest celebrities to ride in their parades. Some of the more popular stars to have appeared are Bob Hope, Dolly Parton, Wayne Newton, John Goodman, Jackie Gleason, Britney Spears, Kirk Douglas, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Cage and the Beach Boys. In most cases visiting stars are not paid to ride, although the krewes do cover their expenses.

Is the Success of Mardi Gras Measured by the Amount of Trash Collected?
No. Before the age of recycling, the success of Mardi Gras in Orleans Parish was sometimes jokingly measured by the amount of trash collected by the New Orleans Sanitation Department. For several years in the late 1980s, the total for the 12-day parading season topped the 2,000-ton mark.

Is Mardi Gras Elitist?
Not any more. While wealthy white males once controlled Carnival (and most of America), Mardi Gras is one of the nation's most diverse institutions and it offers a rich cultural experience to participants and spectators.

Mardi Gras Indians

"Mardi Gras Indians--the parade most white people don't see. The ceremonial procession is loose, the parade is not scheduled for a particular time or route...that is up to the Big Chief."
- Larry Bannock

Typical Mardi Gras organizations will form a "krewe." A krewe often names their parade after a particular mythological hero or Greek god. The ranking structure of a Mardi Gras Krewe is a parody of royalty: King, Queen, Dukes, Knights and Captains...or some variation on that theme. Many more established Krewes allowed membership by invitation only.

Few in the ghetto felt they could ever participate in the typical New Orleans parade. Historically, slavery and racism were at the root of this cultural separation. The black neighborhoods in New Orleans gradually developed their own style of celebrating Mardi Gras. Their "Krewes" are named for imaginary Indian tribes according to the streets of their ward or gang.

The Mardi Gras Indians named themselves after native Indians to pay them respect for their assistance in escaping the tyranny of slavery. It was often local Indians who accepted slaves into their society when they made a break for freedom. They have never forgotten this support.

In the past, Mardi Gras was a violent day for many Mardi Gras Indians. It was a day often used to settle scores. The police were often unable to intervene due to the general confusion surrounding Mardi Gras events in the city...where the streets were crowded and everyone was masked. This kept many families away from the "parade," and created much worry and concern for a mother whose child wanted to join the "Indians."

"'I'm gonna mask that morning if it costs me my life!' That morning you pray and ask God to watch over you, cause everybody is bucking for number one." - Larry Bannock

Today when two Mardi Gras Indian tribes pass one another, you will see a living theater of art and culture. Each tribe's style and dress is on display...in a friendly but competitive manner, they compare one another's art and craftsmanship.

The greeting of the Big Chiefs of two different tribes often starts with a song, chant, ceremonial dance, and threatening challenge to "Humba"--the Big Chief's demand that the other bow and pay respect. The retort is a whoop and equally impressive song and war dance with the reply, "Me no Humba, YOU Humba!"

"You know when you've won, you see it in their eyes." - Larry Bannock

Although there was a history of violence, many now choose to keep this celebration friendly. Each Big Chief will eventually stand back and, with a theatrical display of self-confidence, acknowledge the artistry and craftsmanship of the other's suit. Before the progression can continue, the two Big Chiefs will often comment privately to one another, "Looking good Baby, looking good!"

"After Mardi Gras, you thank GOD that you made it." - Larry Bannock

Mardi Gras is no longer a day to "settle scores" among the Mardi Gras Indians. Violence is a relic of the past. It is now Mardi Gras tradition and practice for the Indians to simply compare their tribal song, dance and dress with other tribes as they meet that day. Each Indian has invested thousands of hours and dollars in the creation of his suit, and is not willing to risk ruining it in a fight. This tradition, rich with folk art and history, is now appreciated by museums and historical societies around the world. It is a remarkable and welcome change from the past.

The history and culture of the Mardi Gras Indians is a significant part of Mardi Gras and New Orleans -- yet until now, it has been the least appreciated and least understood. We hope you enjoy reading about it as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you! We thank the Mardi Gras Indian Council for opening their history books, and sharing their history and traditions with us!

© 2015 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.