Mardi Gras: History, Tradition, and American Celebration

The Mystique of Mardi Gras

People can, and often do, build shrines in their memory to cherished experiences in their lives. While some of these shrines are dedicated to memories of a purely personal nature, a few are related to community traditions that have grown to hold especial meaning. Mardi Gras is one such tradition, which many Americans value both for its historical significance and because it is a much-anticipated event of fun, color, and uninhibited celebration. Indeed, Mardi Gras has grown to the stature of a form of American pilgrimage for citizens and tourists alike.

What makes Mardi Gras so singularly extraordinary among the hundreds of festivals characterized by fun and gaiety? No doubt, a survey to determine the main factors behind its mystique and charisma would yield several rational and emotional descriptors: the satirical procession of the Krewe du Vieux Carré; the carefully orchestrated theatrical parades by the Zulus and the Indians; the debutantes and the balls; the decorations; and all the historic rituals. But the fact is that no amount of adjectives can truly describe Mardi Gras. To use a cliché, the festival simply has to be experienced to understand why it has become almost an annual American pilgrimage.

A Personal Encounter with the Festival

I belong to a family of people who have personally experienced the Mardi Gras festivities. Though the use of adjectives usually fails to do justice to any attempt to recapture the Mardi Gras effect in words, I will nevertheless try to describe the impact the event had on me personally. First and foremost, witnessing Mardi Gras is an awesome spectacle reminiscent of the most elaborate stage settings in films such as Gone with the Wind or Cleopatra. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Mardi Gras literally leaves its participating audience with a wholly stagestruck feeling.

The festival, however, does not let you stay stagestruck for very long, for one is simply swept away on a tide of mysterious masked figures, alluring and seductive women, adventurers, and unabashed gaiety. The net result is that Mardi Gras, with all the rich traditions and rituals it has on offer, succeeds in transporting people back in time to an era that represents perhaps the best in romance.

Historical Origins: From Rome to New Orleans

The sensation of being carried back in time also invokes a keen desire to understand the historical origins of the festival. It would probably surprise most people to learn that the history of Mardi Gras can be traced all the way back to the Romans, who celebrated the Lupercalia — a circus-like carnival — as a period of merriment preceding the month of Lent. Mardi Gras itself came to America in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville. Pre-Lenten masked balls and festivals were common in New Orleans during the eighteenth century.

The custom was, however, banned when the Spanish took over New Orleans, and it was subsequently revived only in the early nineteenth century, once the city came under the U.S. flag. Unfortunately, irresponsible public behavior earned the festival a dubious reputation. This reputation was saved only by the timely intervention of six New Orleans citizens who formed the Comus organization in 1857, with the express purpose of demonstrating that Mardi Gras could be a safe and dignified event.