Mardi Gras Essays -- Holidays Holiday Mardi Gras New Orleans Essays

Mardi Gras This paper is about Mardi Gras, A festival or Carnivalcelebrated once a year. In this paper I will establish howMardi Gras originated, when it is celebrated, how it is celebrated, and what does it mean to all the differentcultures.Mardi Gras, in the French speaking parts of the worldand in some US southern states is the last day of genus Circusfestivities preceding Lent, the time of penitence observedby Christians in preparation for Easter. Mardi Gras (?FatTuesday?) is a French term for Shrove Tuesday, the day in advance the start of Lent. sooner Lent festivities reach theclimax on a day in February or March, depending on whatdate Easter is.(Americana pg. 308)French colonists brought Mardi Gras to America inthe early on 1700?s. It grew popular in modern siege of Orleans,atomic number 57, and spread through the southern states. MardiGras is a legal holiday in Alabama and Florida and in eightcounties of Louisiana. The New Orleans celebration is themost famous. But Bilox i, Mississippi, and Mobile,Alabama also have celebrations. (World Book pg. 197) History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans during the 18thcentury. Many wealthy Louisiana families would leave theirrural plantations to spend the winter months in NewOrleans, where they held lavish parties and masked balls.The first written reference to Mardi Gras celebrations inNew Orleans appears in a 1781 report of the Spanishgovernment, which controlled Louisiana. The reportaddressed problems that might arise from allowing slaves towear masks at the winter festivities. The United States tookcontrol of Louisiana in 1803, and the New Orleans? citycouncil banned all masked entertainment three years later.Enforcement of the law appears to have been erratic. By themid-1820s masks and costumes were again legal. The firstdocumented Mardi Gras butt on took place in 1837, and theparade soon became an annual tradition. However,outbursts of violence at the parades gave the festivities abad name.(?Mardi Gras? Micro soft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)Shrove Tuesday immediately precedes AshWednesday and is the last day before Lent. Mardi Gras hasbeen noted for the elaborate mumming parades andboisterous parties that characterize its celebration in NewOrleans, Trinidad... ...blackface (black makeup traditionally used in minstrelshows) and wear grass skirts as they distribute gold-paintedcoconuts to crowds of observers.Another important African American Carnivaltradition is the annual appearance of the Mardi GrasIndians, groups of black men who dance through the streetsin costumes divine by the traditional clothing of NativeAmericans. Each member of a Mardi Gras Indians tribecreates his own costume, usually incorporating colorfulfeathers and intricate beadwork. Most scholars believe thatthe Mardi Gras Indians tradition began in the late 19thcentury. In the past, rivalries between tribes sometimes ledto violent confrontations. Today, such conflicts have givenway to a competition among the Mardi Gras In dian tribesfor the most elaborate costume.(?Mardi Gras? Microsoft EncartaEncyclopedia 99)Mardi Gras continues to attract tourists to NewOrleans from around the world. Today Mardi Gras drawsmore than 3 million people to parades and generatesapproximately $1 cardinal for the local economy. (?Mardi Gras?Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)