H A P P Y * M A R D I * G R A S!
Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage in 1699. Early explorers celebrated this French Holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the years, Orleanians have added to the celebration by establishing krewes (organizations) which host parades and balls. Carnival quickly became an exciting holiday for both children and adults.
Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and of course is celebrated on that day of the week. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Lunar calendar, used by the Catholic Church to determine the date of Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.
The official colors for Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. These colors were chosen in 1872 by the King of Carnival, Rex. He chose these colors to stand for the following:
- Purple represents justice
- green stands for faith
- gold stands for power
The Mardi Gras season begins on January 6 and continues until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. On the Christian calendar, the twelfth day after Christmas is known as "Epiphany", "Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day." It is the day the gift-bearing Magi visited the baby Jesus, and is celebrated with its own unique rituals.
4 comments:
See you found some creativity already! Lelly
Sounds like alot of fun..............
Wish I was there...
Awright.....glad to see you're back at it again!!!!!!!
I've never had the opportunity to really celebrate Mardi Gras, but someone else was talking about it at their journal, and they mentioned the King Cake, with the baby inside. I didn't have a clue what that was, because I don't believe they sell those cakes out here. She was kind enough to explain and send pictures giving me some info on the cake and Mardi Gras. So...are you planning on celebrating it?
Hugs,
Jackie
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