Laissez les bons temps rouler
Let the Good Times Roll
I Love the Mardi Gras!
Mardi Gras 2014 is on Tuesday, March 4
It’s so much fun to attend the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana! Where else can you don costumes, paint your face, hide behind a mask, wear silly party hats and celebrate in a carnival environment full of great food and wild and crazy times? Did you know that Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”? I don’t know if they call it “Fat” because that is what you become after feasting for days on the terrific food available on every corner, but counting calories is definitely not advised this lively, food-filled festival!
Mardi Gras is linked to the Catholic religious celebration of Epiphany, and began with the practice of eating rich foods prior to the Lenten Season, which day before Ash Wednesday, called “Shrove Tuesday” (shrove comes from the Latin word, “shrive,” which means to confess). Mardi Gras began in Louisiana as the result of introducing French traditions to the New World and was started by two brothers, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, who also founded some of Louisiana’s largest cities, including Biloxi and Mobile (which later became part of Alabama).
Later, three businessmen met in a club room in New Orleans’s French Quarter and decided to organize a secret society. This led to a formal parade and also to the city’s nickname, “Laissez les bons temps rouler,” or “Let the good times roll!” Mardi Gras and similar celebrations are also celebrated in other countries across the world, including Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Other US cities with French colonial heritage histories, from Pensacola, Florida to Lafayette, Louisiana, also have active Mardi Gras celebrations and balls. In addition to parades, costumes, beads and face makeup or masks, with the advent of videos, it’s not unusual to see women baring their breasts for beads or trinkets, just to show go to the top’s off and have a good time!
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is an experience that you’ll never forget, remember with a smile, and long to return to again and again!
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