In all the years I’ve been on Earth, Mardi Gras is … not something I’ve known much about.
Sure, you heard it every year.
And supposedly it’s one hell of a party each year in New Orleans.
There are beads. And colors. And drinks. And food.
So.
Much.
Stuff.
A bit on the backside of this – when I was younger, I didn’t mind going out for drinks and basic shenanigans. But I wasn’t much on massive parties and craziness. I never wanted to go somewhere south for spring break and I had no interest in places where the main objective was partying and getting, well, shitfaced.
As I’ve gotten older, I look at things differently. I’m not into that shitfaced part, still, but I look at the whole Mardi Gras thing as an experience. And though I’m sure I’ll never do it, it’s still a bit more interesting to me, even if just for photography purposes.
But what the hell is Mardi Gras?
And why do I care about beads?
I set out to find out, in easy terms what this day is and what kind of things you might be able to expect.
So what is Mardi Gras?
Also known as Fat Tuesday, it’s the day before Ash Wednesday and is the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before Lent season.
Basically, stuff your face and live it up before giving up certain things for lent.
This is not something observed throughout the United States (it’s different throughout the world, but being I’m in the States, I’ll stick with that), it is something you see in traditionally ethnic French cities and regions. New Orleans is one of the biggest and probably best known.
Costumes are often part of these celebrations. Masks, costumes, and bright colors – often yellows, purples, and greens. Nowadays, the costumes can become elaborate, using feathers and capes as well. There sometimes are themes with the costumes.
I know a few people who have done the Mardi Gras trip in New Orleans and one thing they pointed out is that some ladies like to go topless, which apparently has been documented since 1889 according Wikipedia. The French Quarter is seemingly a big place for this, where people will expose themselves on balconies, getting a crowd to form on the street below.
And this is where the beads and trinkets apparently come into play. I was always curious about this and what the point was. Again, according to Wikipedia, it seems the rise of producing commercial videos catering to voyeurs has helped this, so the tradition is women bare their breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets. A study in 1991 found 1,200 instances of this happening!
Yowza!
So let’s flip this a little – to something a little more tame.
Food and drinks.
When I was originally looking at something for this challenge, my initial thought was to find a recipe and make it. One thing I noticed, though, is what the foods that seem to go with Mardi Gras are like – and that would be not very kind on my blood sugar! Have you seen the King’s Cake? It looks divine, but … it wouldn’t be good for me!
The drinks… they look strong but tasty. Try a hurricane. I’d say it would be super delicious!
Mardi Gras is an interesting holiday. I honestly can’t say I’d head to New Orleans for this celebration, but I’d like to try some of the food and drinks.
How about any of you? Have you been part of anything with Mardi Gras in the past? This year it is Tuesday, February 25.
Blog With Friends: February 2020
Blog with Friends is a themed collaboration challenge where a group of bloggers get together and publish a project based on a theme. Please see the others who have taken part for this month’s theme Mardi Gras. Links to their posts can be found below the image!
Check out what the others did with Mardi Gras!
- Karen of Baking In A Tornado
- Kia at The Ground Beneath my Feet
- Melissa at My Heartfelt Sentiments
- Lydia of Cluttered Genius
- Jules of The Bergham Chronicles
Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen here, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! Starting up is the Food Photo Challenge and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!
I’ve been to New Orleans, not during Mardi Gras, but there was (there always is) some parade going on. It was fun but unfortunately I wasn’t able to really get a good taste of the city. I was there for a graduation, and I was pregnant. Maybe it’s time to go back!
New Orleans seems like it would be a fun town pretty much any time of the year. One day, I might make it there.
I would love to visit New Orleans and experience their Mardi Gras! It’s on the bucket list. 🙂 This is a huge tradition in Europe and South America as well. In Germany, it’s called Karneval or Fasching. The (carnival) season lasts from Nov, 11 to the end of day on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday), which is when the ornate parades take place. When I lived there (1960s), my aunt and uncle were the Queen and King of their town’s parade. Topless women are commonplace in Europe and nobody bats an eye. LOL This is a cool idea for a blogging challenge.
Debbie D. recently posted..SANTORINI: GREEK ODYSSEY PART XII
As I was looking over the history of Mardi Gras, I noticed how big it is around the world. Not sure I would be able to dig these big celebrations, if not just because I am not into that party scene. I’m sure there would be some pretty cool things, however.
I, like you have never been to Mardi Gras although, back in the day I did used to enjoy a good, crazy party. I still do on occasion but I find my body is just not as happy about staying up late anymore let alone having lots of drinks. I did have the chance to spend some time in New Orleans though as I used to work on the Mississippi Queen river boat cruise ship. We used to dock in New Orleans about every other week, this was in the mid 90s and I have to say, it was beautiful and crazy. I would love to go back! That having been said, now that I live in Spain, they are having a carnival celebration in our little village in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to seeing what they are going to do here.
I definitely used to enjoy a crazy party back in the day, but those days are long past me. I’m not sure the last time I ever did anything I would consider “crazy partying.” Maybe like 2010? But I’m the same in that… doing the all nighter or having a bunch of drinks just doesn’t work for me anymore. And that sounds like a really cool job you had.
I would love to visit New Orleans but not during MG time. Far too many people for me and too rowdy but I’m up for trying to tasty treats.
Dawn aka Spatulas On Parade
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I’m with you. I’m all in for the tasty treats!