Editor's Corner

Good morning, my friends!

I remember knowing full well what Ash Wednesday was when I was a kid, because my brother and I went to Catholic school. We knew it was a day that we’d write something on a piece of paper, like “I promise I will be nice to my brother,” or “I promise not to hit my sister” and then take it to church. Father Canole burned our promises, said some prayers, and the primary outcome was that we’d spend the day walking around with crosses of ash on our foreheads. Ash Wednesday was the start of lent: Forty days of fasting and penance until Easter.

What they didn’t tell us was that the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday was known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday), or Shrove Tuesday. Let’s have a quick look at the day, especially at how it is celebrated in New Orleans.

From History.com:

The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans, Louisiana. They held a small celebration and dubbed their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras. (Some argue the port city of Mobile, Alabama was actually the first to observe the event.)

In the decades that followed, New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday with street parties, masked balls, and lavish dinners. When the Spanish took control of New Orleans, however, they abolished these rowdy rituals, and the bans remained in force until Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812.

On Mardi Gras in 1827, a group of students donned colorful costumes and danced through the streets of New Orleans, emulating the revelry they’d observed while visiting Paris. Ten years later, the first recorded New Orleans Mardi Gras parade took place, a tradition that continues to this day.

In 1857, a secret society of New Orleans shopkeepers called the Mistick Krewe of Comus organized a torch-lit Mardi Gras procession with marching bands and rolling floats, setting the tone for future public celebrations in the city.

Since then, krewes have remained a fixture of the Carnival scene throughout Louisiana. Other lasting customs include throwing beads and other trinkets, wearing masks, decorating floats and eating King Cake.

Did you know? Rex, one of the oldest Mardi Gras krewes, has been participating in parades since 1872 and established purple, gold, and green as the iconic Mardi Gras colors.

Louisiana is the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday. However, elaborate carnival festivities draw crowds in other parts of the United States during the Mardi Gras season as well, including Alabama and Mississippi. Each region has its own events and traditions.

Whatever your religion, whatever you eat, and whatever you celebrate, I wish you a happy Mardi Gras!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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