A history of the celebration mardi gras in new orleans louisiana

Visit Website The word carnival, another common name for the pre-Lenten festivities, also derives from this feasting tradition: They held a small celebration and dubbed their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras.

January 17, Revelers take to the streets to enjoy the Rex parade on Mardi Gras day. While we most definitely put on the largest and most fun free party in North America, the celebration of Fat Tuesday is much older than New Orleans.

Therefore, Mardi Gras has its roots in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The early Church converted folks from the worship of gods and emperors. Since Christmas and Easter are the most important observances in the Christian world, the Church decided that the faithful needed some time to prepare themselves spiritually and physically for them.

For Christmas, the preparatory period became known as Advent. The sacrifices of Advent were rewarded with Christmas celebrations. Celebrations started up again, before the serious time of fasting and penitence. The Bible says Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, so Lent begins 40 days before Easter.

Barons and other lords would plan to make new knights on Mardi Gras. They feasted, then prepared for springtime battles by training and fasting during Lent.

They entered the river on Monday, March 2, Courtesy University of New Orleans In the eighteenth and ninteenth centuries, Carnival in New Orleans was an informal celebration by individual families.

Some folks would take to the streets, going from house to house, to celebrate. The Spanish, who controlled Louisiana from towere much more conservative than the french.

They discouraged public drinking and celebration. That let up a bit after Napoleon sold Louisiana to the Americans. Bypublic celebration on Mardi Gras became an organized parade in Mobile, Alabama. People in New Orleans took to the streets, but in a more disorderly fashion.

Beginning inNew Orleans had parades, but they were rowdy, almost riotous. By the s, the city leaders considered closing down public celebration of Carnival. The krewe held a tightly-organized, two-float parade on the night of Mardi Gras, After their parade, the Krewe held a private bal masque.

An invitation to the first ball of the Twelfth Night Revelers, 6-Jan The Comus parade caught on, but the Civil War and the Union occupation of New Orleans shut down the public celebrations. After the war, interest in holding other parades returned.

Inthe Twelfth Night Revelers paraded on January 6th. Two new organizations took to the streets in One decided to parade during the day on Mardi Gras.

They paraded on the weekend before Mardi Gras. Members of these early parades wore masks, maintaining their anonymity. Their organizations became closely linked to the business and political communities in the city. The Krewe of Proteus, first paraded on Lundi Gras, in By then, interest in parades was widespread.

Mardi Gras in the African-American Community Since carnival organizations were excluded and segregated, the African-American community held their own celebrations, both formal and less so. Inblack businessmen and professionals formed the Original Illinois Club, to have their own bal masque.

The couple attended parades, as well as the balls for Rex and Comus that evening. By the s, several krewes, including the Krewe of Iris and Krewe of Venus took to the streets with hundreds of women riding and throwing. Concept sketch for the costume of Bacchus I, Danny Kaye, Courtesy Louisiana State Museum By the s, though, businessmen interested in tourism promotion wrestled with the problem of a big celebration on a Tuesday.

Inthose businessmen formed the Krewe of Bacchus. They held their first parade on the Sunday night before Mardi Gras in New Orleans Mardi Gras News; footsteps looking for the first Mardi Gras in Louisiana. Comment. were coming up on the th anniversary of New Orleans and history seemed to be on everyone.

Mardi Gras is a Christian celebration that occurs every year before the onset of Lent and is associated with Louisiana and New Orleans in particular.

It is also known as Carnival in many places around the world, such as Italy and Brazil, and normally involves parades and street parties. New Orleans Social clubs play a very large part in the Mardi Gras celebration as hosts of many of the parades on or around Mardi Gras.

The two main Mardi Gras . Visit the brand new Riverboat City of New Orleans for its Mardi Gras Jazz Cruise year round.. it is a jazz cruise with a Mardi Gras Twist!

View cruise details» "As Mayor of the great City of New Orleans, I invite you to visit our city to experience the excitement of Mardi Gras!". Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana is a permanent exhibition.

The Presbytere is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, students and active military and free to children 12 and under. New Orleans is the most famous American destination for Mardi Gras activities, but virtually every city and town in Louisiana has some sort of Mardi Gras celebration on or before Fat Tuesday.

Large Louisiana cities such as Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Lafayette and Houma host multiple Mardi Gras parades each year.