New Orleans Mardi Gras

New Orleans Mardi Gras is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the most famous Carnival celebrations.

History

Mardi Gras was brought to Louisiana by early French settlers. The first record of the holiday being marked in Louisiana is 1699. The starting date of festivities in New Orleans is unknown, but an account from 1743 notes that the custom of Carnival balls was already established by that date. Processions and masking in the streets on Mardi Gras Day took place, were sometimes prohibited by law, and were quickly renewed whenever such restrictions were lifted or enforcement waned.

Related Topics:
Louisiana - French - 1699 - 1743

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Mardi Gras of 1857 the Mystick Krewe of Comus held its first parade. This was neither (as has sometimes been mistakenly asserted) the beginning New Orleans Mardi Gras nor the first New Orleans Mardi Gras parade, but it did usher in a new era of more organized Carnival festivities. It started a number of continuing traditions, and is considered the first Carnival krewe in the modern sense.

Related Topics:
1857 - Mystick Krewe of Comus - Krewe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

War, economic, political, and weather conditions sometimes led to cancelation of some or all major parades, especially during the American Civil War and World War II, but celebration of Carnival has always been observed in the city.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - World War II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1972 was the last year in which large parades went though the narrow streets of the city's old French Quarter neighborhood; larger floats and crowds and safety concerns led the city government to prohibit big parades in the Quarter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1979 the New Orleans police department went on strike. All the official parades were canceled or moved to surrounding communities such as Jefferson Parish. Many fewer tourists than usual came to the city. Masking, costuming, and celebrations continued anyway, with National Guard troops maintaining order. Guardsmen prevented crimes against persons or property but made no attempt to enforce laws regulating morality or drug use; for these reasons, some in the French Quarter bohemian community are fond of calling 1979 the city's best Mardi Gras ever.

Related Topics:
1979 - Police - Jefferson Parish - National Guard - Bohemian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1991 the New Orleans city council passed an ordinance that prohibited spending city funds on police and sanitation for any event held on public streets by carnival organizations that imposed racial segregation in their bylaws. In protest, the old white 19th century krewes Comus and Momus stopped parading. Proteus also suspended its parade that year, but its membership ultimately decided to abide by the council resolution, and Proteus returned to the parade schedule.

Related Topics:
1991 - Racial segregation - White

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some maintain that membership in the older krewes is not so much racially exclusive as it is "class exclusive" -- that these krewes grant membership only to people from wealthy old-line families, who just happen to be white. Others consider the restricted-membership krewes to reflect ongoing racial, ethnic or religious prejudice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today, many krewes operate under a business structure; membership is basically open to anyone who pays dues to have a place on a parade float. In contrast, the old-line krewes use the structure of the parades and balls to extend the traditions of the debutante season in their social circles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~