Post by KittyLane on Jan 23, 2007 23:24:36 GMT -5
Mardi Gras has been celebrated for thousands of years. Some historians think that ancient rituals of fertility performed by different tribes were the roots of Mardi Gras. These rituals also welcomed spring's arrival. Some historians believe these celebrations were a reward for surviving harsh winters. The poet Ovid said that these took place five thousand years ago. In France, Druids sacrificed bulls in their celebration called Fete du Soleil, or Festival of the Sun. The Druids were an order of priests that appeared in ancient Gaul and Britain. The Druids' sacrifices were offerings to the gods so they could have more fertile women and more livestock. Some say that farmers threw flour on their fields as symbolism for more crops. They exist in Welsh and Irish legend as sorcerers and prophets.
Parts of the customs from the old festivals are also found in Lupercalia, a Roman circus-like festival taking place annually in mid-February. History shows that the celebration was originally a shepherd-festival because Rome, as legend says, was founded by boys who where under the care of a shepherd. The festival later evolved to honor Lupercus, the Roman god of fertility. Even though some historians don't consider a link between the tribal and Druid rituals to our celebration of Mardi Gras, other historians say the Lupercalia was the definite link from ancient festivals to Mardi Gras.
The Catholic Church wanted to stop the people from celebrating pagan festivities. They knew it would be very difficult so they changed the celebration to Carnival and made Carnival a time of merriment before the serious Lent season. Carnival was derived from the Latin word carnelevamen which translates as farewell to flesh. Lent is a time for fasting and giving up things because of the crucifixion of Christ. They added the boeuf gras in the 1500s, which stood for the last meat eaten before Lent. The celebration spread from France to all Catholic countries and flourished during the Middle Ages.
Mardi Gras came to North America in 1699 when the French-Canadian explorer Pierre le Monye, Sieur de Iberville was exploring the Mississippi River. He and his men camped on a bend of the river sixty miles south of New Orleans on March 3 and knew Mardi Gras was being celebrated back in France. Iberville decided to christen that point Pointe du Mardi Gras because the celebration was taking place back in his homeland. The point is still known as Pointe du Mardi Gras and the Rex organization put a plaque on the site in 1999 to remember 300 years of Mardi Gras in North America.
New Orleans first celebrated Mardi Gras in 1743 with Governor Marquis de Vaudreuil hosting a Carnival ball. New Orleans' Carnival had many similarities to Carnival in Europe. They were both celebrated privately and publicly by all ranks of people. Europe and New Orleans had Carnival balls and they both marched and celebrated in the streets as well. New Orleans' and Europe's authorities tried to stop the celebration. They both failed because the public enjoyed the celebrations so much. After realizing they could not stop the celebrations, they tried to control them and succeeded.
Twelfth Night parties were held at plantations beginning in 1790. Twelfth Night, January 6, is the last night of the twelve days of Christmas and supposedly is when the wise men saw Jesus. It is also the beginning of the Christian season of Epiphany which ends on Mardi Gras Day, the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. The date of Mardi Gras changes annually to be forty-seven days before Easter, which includes the forty days of Lent and six Sundays.
In the early 1800s, the public part of Mardi Gras consisted only of maskers parading by foot, sometimes with horses and carriages. The first organized, official parade was in 1837, and the marchers were in costume. They threw sugar-coated peanuts to the crowd as the French had done. The first float, pulled by mules appeared in 1839. Growing violence by maskers almost made the City of New Orleans stop Mardi Gras. A balcony had collapsed at a Carnival ball killing several people. The argument of whether to stop Mardi Gras lasted for twenty years. The Mistick Krewe of Comus made Mardi Gras into a safer, family-oriented celebration. It is the oldest krewe in New Orleans and was founded in 1857.
Mardi Gras was cancelled from 1862 to 1865 because of the Civil War. Comus once again started the parades after the war. Rex first appeared in 1872 to honor Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff. Rex did this because New Orleans did not have any royalty and wanted to grandly welcome the Duke. Rex is the first large, organized daytime parade on Mardi Gras Day and may be the most famous of the New Orleans' krewes. Mardi Gras was cancelled again from 1918 to 1919 and from 1942 to 1945 because of World Wars I and II. In the 1950s, Carnival had a significant change. Tractors replaced the mules that pulled the floats. In 1979, many New Orleans policemen went on strike and thirteen parades were cancelled.
In 2000, Mardi Gras added a billion dollars a year to the New Orleans economy. Mardi Gras is always expanding even after being in New Orleans over 200 years!
library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312226/history.htm
i love this festive holiday. i love the foods, the gathering of friends and of course the festivities!
Parts of the customs from the old festivals are also found in Lupercalia, a Roman circus-like festival taking place annually in mid-February. History shows that the celebration was originally a shepherd-festival because Rome, as legend says, was founded by boys who where under the care of a shepherd. The festival later evolved to honor Lupercus, the Roman god of fertility. Even though some historians don't consider a link between the tribal and Druid rituals to our celebration of Mardi Gras, other historians say the Lupercalia was the definite link from ancient festivals to Mardi Gras.
The Catholic Church wanted to stop the people from celebrating pagan festivities. They knew it would be very difficult so they changed the celebration to Carnival and made Carnival a time of merriment before the serious Lent season. Carnival was derived from the Latin word carnelevamen which translates as farewell to flesh. Lent is a time for fasting and giving up things because of the crucifixion of Christ. They added the boeuf gras in the 1500s, which stood for the last meat eaten before Lent. The celebration spread from France to all Catholic countries and flourished during the Middle Ages.
Mardi Gras came to North America in 1699 when the French-Canadian explorer Pierre le Monye, Sieur de Iberville was exploring the Mississippi River. He and his men camped on a bend of the river sixty miles south of New Orleans on March 3 and knew Mardi Gras was being celebrated back in France. Iberville decided to christen that point Pointe du Mardi Gras because the celebration was taking place back in his homeland. The point is still known as Pointe du Mardi Gras and the Rex organization put a plaque on the site in 1999 to remember 300 years of Mardi Gras in North America.
New Orleans first celebrated Mardi Gras in 1743 with Governor Marquis de Vaudreuil hosting a Carnival ball. New Orleans' Carnival had many similarities to Carnival in Europe. They were both celebrated privately and publicly by all ranks of people. Europe and New Orleans had Carnival balls and they both marched and celebrated in the streets as well. New Orleans' and Europe's authorities tried to stop the celebration. They both failed because the public enjoyed the celebrations so much. After realizing they could not stop the celebrations, they tried to control them and succeeded.
Twelfth Night parties were held at plantations beginning in 1790. Twelfth Night, January 6, is the last night of the twelve days of Christmas and supposedly is when the wise men saw Jesus. It is also the beginning of the Christian season of Epiphany which ends on Mardi Gras Day, the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. The date of Mardi Gras changes annually to be forty-seven days before Easter, which includes the forty days of Lent and six Sundays.
In the early 1800s, the public part of Mardi Gras consisted only of maskers parading by foot, sometimes with horses and carriages. The first organized, official parade was in 1837, and the marchers were in costume. They threw sugar-coated peanuts to the crowd as the French had done. The first float, pulled by mules appeared in 1839. Growing violence by maskers almost made the City of New Orleans stop Mardi Gras. A balcony had collapsed at a Carnival ball killing several people. The argument of whether to stop Mardi Gras lasted for twenty years. The Mistick Krewe of Comus made Mardi Gras into a safer, family-oriented celebration. It is the oldest krewe in New Orleans and was founded in 1857.
Mardi Gras was cancelled from 1862 to 1865 because of the Civil War. Comus once again started the parades after the war. Rex first appeared in 1872 to honor Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff. Rex did this because New Orleans did not have any royalty and wanted to grandly welcome the Duke. Rex is the first large, organized daytime parade on Mardi Gras Day and may be the most famous of the New Orleans' krewes. Mardi Gras was cancelled again from 1918 to 1919 and from 1942 to 1945 because of World Wars I and II. In the 1950s, Carnival had a significant change. Tractors replaced the mules that pulled the floats. In 1979, many New Orleans policemen went on strike and thirteen parades were cancelled.
In 2000, Mardi Gras added a billion dollars a year to the New Orleans economy. Mardi Gras is always expanding even after being in New Orleans over 200 years!
library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312226/history.htm
i love this festive holiday. i love the foods, the gathering of friends and of course the festivities!