New Orleans

Mardi Gras City

 New Orleans is one of the most
important cities in the history of the United
States of America, pre-Civil War and with a
huge cultural heritage – architectural, music
and of course, the Louisiana food culture - a
staple of American cuisine.
The purpose of this paper is to point
out the remarkable history and
culture of New Orleans, each being
cross-referenced to a more detailed
account. Hopefully, the paper will
encourage interested people to visit
the state of Louisiana and the
Southern cities of America.
 Mardi Gras History

The origins of Mardi On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian

Gras can be traced to explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne
medieval Europe, Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of
passing through Rome ground 60 miles directly south of
and Venice in the 17th New Orleans, and named it "Pointe
and 18th centuries to du Mardi Gras" when his men
the French House of the realized it was the eve of the festive
Bourbons. holiday.
New Orleans was established in
1718 by Bienville. By the 1730s,
Mardi Gras was celebrated openly in
New Orleans, but not with the
parades we know today. In the early
1740s, Louisiana's governor, the
Marquis de Vaudreuil, established
elegant society balls, which became
the model for the New Orleans
Mardi Gras balls of today.
 Dazzling gaslight torches, or "flambeaux," lit
the way for the krewe's members and lent each
event an exciting air of romance and festivity.
In 1856, six young Mobile natives formed the
Mistick Krewe of Comus, invoking John
Milton's hero Comus to represent their
organization. Comus brought magic and
mystery to New Orleans with dazzling floats
(known as tableaux cars) and masked balls.
Krewe members remained anonymous.

The-Mystic-Krewe-of-Comus
1872 was the year that a group of businessmen invented a King of Carnival, Rex,
to preside over the first daytime parade. To honor the visiting Russian Grand
Duke Alexis Romanoff, the businessmen introduced Romanoff's family colors of
purple, green and gold as Carnival's official colors.
Purple stands for justice; gold for power; and green for faith.
“Super Krewe” Balls

Some large parades produce an indoor

extravaganza the night of their parade. While all
balls are exciting events, Bacchus, Orpheus, and
Endymion, the three “super krewes,” put on the
best balls by far!
 Flambeaux: It’s a Mardi Gras
tradition that has become revered as an art
form today, having blossomed well beyond the
practical purpose it first served.
In the beginning, the flambeaux were
needed for revelers to see the Carnival parades
at night.
Originally, the Over the past century and a
flambeaux carried half, city infrastructure has
wooden rudimentary evolved, and Mardi Gras
torches, which were parades incorporate more
staves wrapped with lit high-tech LED lighting. But
pine-tar rags. That the flambeaux still evoke
evolved to oil-burning charm and nostalgia as they
lanterns mounted on warm up the crowds for
metal trays and long Mardi Gras parades in New
poles to prevent the Orleans even today.
flames from burning the
carriers.
There is a Carnival specialty that is only
made and sold during the season of Mardi
Gras, the King Cake; an oval, colorful
sugared pastry that contains a plastic baby
doll hidden inside. The person who finds
the doll is crowned "King" and buys the
next cake or throws the next party. This is
the most famous Mardi Gras treat, many
are filled with cream cheese, fruit fillings,
or just cake.
 The culture of New Orleans is at its
best during Mardi Gras. Carnival has suffered
losses through the years, but a city with
endangered tradition at least has more soul
that a city with no traditions at all.
Well, this is how they do it down in
"Nawlins", so if you want a bite of culture and
fun, Mardi Gras is the place for you.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!!!

 Bibliography
Books :

Creecy, James R. (1860). Scenes in the South, and Other Miscellaneous Pieces. Washington: T. McGill. pp. 43, 44. OCLC 3302746.

Laborde, Errol (2007). Krewe: The Early New Orleans Carnival: Comus to Zulu. Metairie, La.: Carnival Press. pp. 57–61. ISBN 978-0-9792273-0-1.

Mitchell, Reid, All on a Mardi Gras Day: Episodes in the History of New Orleans Carnival, Harvard University Press:1995

***"Krewe". American Heritage Dictionary.

Sites :

https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com

https://www.history.com/news/first-mardi-gras-mobile-alabama-new-orleans

https://www.neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/mardi-gras/