Mardi Gras Facts

When you think of Mardi Gras, you think of beads, masks, purple, green and gold and a big celebration. However, do you ever stop and wonder how these traditions came about and why we celebrate? Well, Wedding and Party Network has the low down on Mardi Gras. It will definitely get you thinking about Mardi Gras when you celebrate.

The Start Of Mardi Gras

The history of Mardi Gras can be traced back to the Romans, specifically to a man named Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville. He actually landed 60 miles south of New Orleans and called it "Pointe Due Mardi Gras" and established "Fort Louis de Louisiane" in 1702. The next year,in 1703, their settlement celebrated the very first Mardi Gras. The next year, they established a secret society called, "Masque de la Mobile", which only lasted a few years and then another secret society called, "Boeuf Graf Society". They actually had a procession that was held on Fat Tuesday.

New Orleans was established in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne and by the 1730's, Mardi Gras was openly celebrated by everyone, however, not in parade form. Within the next ten years, Louisiana's Governor, The Maqruis de Vaudreuil established elegant society balls, which was the inspiration for the New Orleans' Mardi Gras balls we see today. The earliest reference to a carnival was referred to in 178. Here is Mardi Gras timeline:

• 1857 – First modern day Mardi Gras with lit torch parade
• 1820 – Decorated wagons began to appear throughout parade
• 1872 – First daytime procession, which was presented by Rex, the King of the carnival for a Russian Duke. This is also the time the flag colors were given, which are purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith.
• 1896 – Les Mysterieuses, Carnival's first female organization organizes it's first ball.
• 2008 – Mardi Gras is a symbolization to rebuild after the hit of hurricane Katrina.

 The History Of The King Cake

Along with Mardi Gras, comes various traditions, including The King Cake. It's a coffee cake style pastry that is decorated with three colors, green, purple and gold. However, the fun is really inside the cake. Each cake has a plastic baby baked inside of it and the one who gets the baby in their slice, you must supply the cake the next year. It's origin can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe and was delivered by settlers in the 1870's.

The History Behind The Beads

So, where did the throwing of the beads come from? The tradition was adapted during the Rex parade when they threw handmade, glass necklaces. Since then, it has only grown and so has the bead industry. Also, the parade "Krewes" have only gotten more elaborate with the throwing of beads into the crowd. They are now throwing trinkets into the crowd, plastic cups or frisbees to make their float memorable.

So, here is the history of Mardi Gras. How will you incorporate these traditions into your party and will you make a tradition of your own? This is definitely a great time to get everyone together to share in these fun festivities.

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